in the wake of this $823,000 convention boondoggla a deputy commissioner of the western region has been placed on administrator leave, david foley, better known as the master ceremonies of the awards banquet where they handed out prizes for the videos like the ones you see here that bragged about the lavish spending. here's part of the winning video, followed by the awards. listen: >> ♪ >> ♪

>> ♪ >> sometimes dreams do come true. i'm here to officially make you commissioner for a day. >> reporter: the man who gave the hat, that's david foley. turns out we found out he was also in charge of managing $5.5 billion in stimulus money. hmm. hmm. and it turns out the videos they made, making fun of wasting taxpayer dollars were made while, you guessed it, employees were on the clock. ♪ >> that was amazing. was there anybody in region seven that wasn't in that thing? [laughter] >> it's a work -- if they didn't work on friday, chances are they weren't -- [laughter]

>> reporter: yeah. filmed during work on fridays. this is going to get a whole lot worse for gsa before it gets better. see that list? in the next ten days, congress will hold three hearings on this, the oversight and government reform committee, the environment and public works committee, the house transportation and infrastructure committee. congressman darrell issa has labeled his reform hearing the gsa's culture of wasteful spending. he wants to see receipts for all the conferences over the past seven or eight years. gsa, of course, says they're outraged, the administration says it's outraged. and a footnote here vegas says, don't blame us. remember when president obama said don't go to vegas? you shouldn't be spending your money in vegas? vegas is worried this is going to lead to fewer conventions being booked in sin city. megyn: you don't have to today at the m hotel, you don't have to have a $44 breakfast, you don't have to buy commemorative coins in velvet boxes for your

federal employees. you can do it in a different way. >> reporter: you don't have to have a $3,000 mind reader who if he was really good would have told them they were going to be in trouble. megyn: i stay at the tropicana, and then they imploded that one. >> reporter: yeah. they should have. megyn: that's how old i am. drop can pa. the truth is, they give you great deals in vegas. you can get a $99 hotel suite in some of these places. well, it turns out these general services administration employees are hardly hurting for cash. according to the latest data we have, the average gsa salary is close to $92,000. that's about two and a half times what the average american worker made last year, and wait, there's more. moments ago senator claire mccaskill filed a demand for more information on reports that some of the very people responsible for this controversial conference were paid bonuses while they were under investigation. chris stirewalt joins us on that in five minutes.

and there is big news today for everyone who owns a cell phone. anyone who has had their cell phone stolen knows it can be a nightmare, and part of it is knowing that someone is rifling through all your personal information. now the nation's top wireless carriers are not only joining forces to prevent theft, but to protect your identity as well. how? shibani joshi has more, she's with the fox business network. shibani, what's the story? >> reporter: it's a problem that is so big that it is uniting some unusual suspects, the big four u.s. carriers, at&t, verizon, t-mobile and sprint teaming up with lawmakers and the fcc to announce a new national database to combat the rising epidemic of stolen cell phones. now, the current set-up making it a little too easy for thieves who do steal your cell phone to go out and sell it in the black market, so now lawmakers are getting involved. senator chuck schumer, one of the parties involved, says,

quote: our goal is to make a stolen cell phone as worthless as an empty wallet. cell phone thefts are a huge mistake. anyone who's experienced this knows what i'm talking about. law enforcement officials now accounting for a whopping 30-40% of all reported robberies. this joint consortium plans to make this database operational in about 18 months so, basically, when you call and report your smartphone is stolen, it renders its useless, but there's tons you can do ahead of that to make yourself a little bit safer. number one, password-protect your device. two, you can install an app that wipes out data if and when it gets lost, and for goodness sakes, megyn, don't stand at the subway platform with your purse wide open and your iphone 4s right on top. you're just inviting trouble. [laughter] megyn: really? victim here. shibani, thank you. be. we are starting to hear the first stirring of what could

become a big political controversy in america's motor city. detroit is on the brink of bankruptcy. unemployment sky high, the housing market practically drowning, and now the state of michigan is coming to the rescue, but it's facing a bitter battle with the unions who are already protesting some of the state's demands. steve brown has more live from detroit today. steve? >> reporter: hey there, megyn. yeah, the rescue comes with strings attached. the city of detroit was looking at running out of money sometime either this month or next month, and it sent out an sos which the state of michigan responded with $137 million and a whole bunch of strings that the city was going to have to modernize its budget. there are some practices by the city government here that defy explanation. take this one from treasurer andy dillon. >> to do the police payroll, it takes 65 final employees. so -- full-time employees. there's inefficiencies in the system because they don't have a

good i.t. system with a good accounting system in place. >> reporter: now, the city of detroit is much smaller than it used to be. two million folks it used to be, now it's less than 800,000. so you take the sales tax revenue, the property tax revenue off of the table, the city's lack of modernization, and you run into trouble. a lot of the coming cuts in city budget will come out of the hides, if you will, of union employees, and union employees say they have few options other than that, perhaps, a big job action this june. have a listen. >> if we were to strike and the teachers were to strike altogether here in detroit, we think we'd have quite an opportunity to shake things up and maybe get some settlement and maybe get some money out of washington for, you know, what detroit really does need. >> reporter: there are a number of different union contracts that all expire in june. there were contract negotiations going on before the entire settlement with the state of michigan, but those are on hold as they go and sort through provisions on the current contracts that they may just completely cut.

so there may be a precursor of a strike coming here in june city wide for the city of detroit which has extraordinarily little money to deal with a lot of problems here. megyn? megyn: steve brown, thank you. we have a lot of viewers in vegas who inform me the tropicana was not actually imploded, it was extensively renovated. it's been a long time. long time! coming up, republicans unveiling a brand new attack ad pitting president obama against president obama. here's a sample. >> because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. >> this republican pac property passes like a tornado through america's nursing homes. >> if you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. disguised as reduction plans is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. megyn: has the president turned his back then on the promises he made back in 2008? a key campaign debate straight

ahead. and miranda wilson claimed she was the big mega millions winner in maryland, that is until the real winners stepped forward yesterday. but wait, we have breaking news ahead on a dramatic new twist in mirlanda's story. it's not over. plus, breaking news in three minutes on the excessive spending of taxpayer dollars at a vegas conference. we are just getting reports on how some of the people blamed for blowing the cash got bonuses for their efforts! that's right after the break. ♪ need any help? uh, nope. just, uh, checking out my ad. nice. t, you know, with every door direct mail from the postal service, you'll find the customers that matter most: the ones in your neighborhood.

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megyn: we've got some poll numbers from rasmussen reports

showing americans giving relatively high marks to the nation's high courts. rasmussen reports polls taken just a few days after president obama warned the supreme court not to overturn his health care law, and it shows 41% of likely voters rate the supreme court's performance as good or excellent, that is up 13 points from mid march before the court took up the health care arguments, 19% of voters still rate the court's work -- record as poor, that's unchanged from last month. fox news alert, stunning new developments just within the last 15 minutes in connection with the over-the-top government-paid-for conference in las vegas. should say taxpayer-paid-for conference. we've just learned some of the very people connected to this scandal, who planned this and put it into action with your money got bonuses while they were under investigation, and the bonuses were to reward them for the great work they did in planning the event that was

memorialized by now-infamous videos like this one. ♪ i travel the world to london, peru, getting that voucher approved for me too. ♪ ain't no place better than gsa. ♪ not trying to get all touchy-feely, but i've got to give props to my man, jeff neely. ♪ i must confess, live every day like aws. ♪ fire so hot, i'll melt -- megyn: you get the picture. joining me now, chris stirewalt, our fox news digital politics editor. so claire mccaskill, a democrat, who has been chairing the, this oversight committee in the senate that's looking into waste is all over this right now and has said i want you to address what appears to be a pervasive culture of rewarding officials for misconduct relating to the expenditure of taxpayer dollars. this is she's talking about the gsa, and she goes on to say

these folks got woe us ins, some -- bonuses in recognition of their contributions to this conference. the white house first came out, chris, and said about all of this, we're appalled, it's terrible. and then they seemed to change course and say it's the bush administration's fault. which is it, and what do those two responses tell you about the thought process right now in the west wing? >> well, the fact that democrat, a vulnerable swing state democrat like claire mccaskill is piling on, the fact that there is bipartisan interest in seeing this undone tells me that the white house understands there is substantial anger over this. they tried the bush play, put out there, well, the inspector general predates this administration, so on and so forth. but, obviously, that's not going to be enough in the face of all of these videos, the intense scrutiny and, as i said, democrats getting into the pile that they want to say i don't have anything to do with this.

if you're somebody like claire mccaskill, the last thing you want to be is identified with a debacle like this, so you get out in front of it, and that in's -- increases the pressure on the administration to come up with a different, better answer. megyn: we had the former administrator of the program on yesterday, and she had some controversies of her own. but when he showed her the full screen that was put out by a white house official, by an administration official that showed increases in the funding -- in spending under president bush at this agency, she said she questioned those numbers. now, this unnamed official refuses to go on the record and refuses to actually put, you know, any facts and figures behind the bottom line number showing the increase of spending, but she thinks they're conflating -- this was one regional conference out in the southwest. she thought that the numbers showing increases back in '06 and '08 included not just the southwest conference, but other regions as welch we have no way of -- as well. no one at the administration is telling us exactly what goes

into these numbers and how the spending got so out of control. chris, do we still know who was the idiot responsible for the decisions -- [laughter] that were made in connection with this conference? >> that's a highly technical term, "idiot in charge." no, we don't know exactly where all of the final checkoffs went, but to look at this through the political lens, megyn, the video, the understanding of the magnitude of the waste, the commemorative coins in the velvet pouches that were handed out, the thousands of dollars that were wasted, the optics, the political term the optics are so bad that these sort of specific things while they're important and certainly the congress in a week of hearings is going to delve into all this, but i want you to consider the political significance beyond just the individuals responsible. as the president is out campaigning to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to finance more government programs and have the government do more things to create what he says will be a fairer society, it's very hard to make that argument

at the same time that people are watching these ridiculous videos, at the same time people are understanding how capable the government still is of waste of this magnitude. megyn: that's the thing. does it undercut even the press to raise taxes on the so-called millionaires and billionaires because why should they fund this any more than the middle class should fund this kind of behavior? it wasn't just the thousand dollar, $2,000, $3,000 party as they had on separate nights in separate hotel suites that we all paid for, it was $31,000 for a welcome reception that they felt we needed to fund, what was it, hold on, sushi rolls for $7 apiece, gourmet cheeses where we paid $19 per attendee. i mean, why should any american be funding that? and as claire mccaskill or anybody else, democrat or republican, holds hearings on this, does that sink into the american psyche of whoever you want to blame, do we want to make americans pay more to people like david foley who just

got placed on administrative leave yesterday for this kind of behavior? this same guy, david foley, was responsible for overseeing $5.5 million of our stimulus money. >> well, look, you've hit it exactly on the head. megyn: 5.5 billion worth of our stimulus money. thanks, david. >> yeah. we don't even count 5.5 million down here anymore, megyn, that's a rounding error. [laughter] even if administration could cod affix the blame on george w. bush, that doesn't make their argument any better that the government is a lean, mean, fighting, fairness machine that is going to help people live better lives and do better things if electorate doesn't believe that the government's up to that job. and as we saw with the stimulus law, as we saw with the health law, in both of those cases americans remain stoutly, staunchly unconvinced that the government's up to the job, and that's what makes the president's task difficult, and

that's how these videos and this scandal makes his sales pitch even more difficult. megyn: yeah. knowing that these people were making on average $92,000 a year and getting $1500 bonuses while they're under investigation, while they're under investigation. chris, thank you. >> yes, ma'am. megyn: well, when news of the trayvon martin killing was thrust into the national spotlight, george zimmerman went into hiding, and then the new black panther party put out a $10,000 bounty on his head, literally saying they wanted him dead or alive. and today zimmerman's family is asking the department of justice, isn't that against the law? we'll have a full report. plus, a typical ride on a school bus until suddenly the driver passes out behind the wheel. how this unfolded, next. remember the texas woman telling president obama that her engineer husband could not find a job? the president offered to help. that was back then, we'll show you what's happened now, just ahead. >> if you send me your husband's resumé, i'd be interested in

finding out exactly what's happening right there because the word we're getting is that somebody in that kind of high-tech field, that kind of engineer, should be able to find something.  all right, let's decide what to

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megyn: now for a remarkable story of a young boy who saved a busload of students from what could have been easily a horrific tragedy, springing into action after his bus driver suffered a stroke. he jumped out of his seat, grabbed the wheel and steered the bus to safety, but his acts of bravery did not end there. trace gallagher has more live from l.a.. >> by the way, it's in milton, washington, about 30 miles outside of seattle. a dozen kids on the bus. play the video again, and keep an eye on the bottom of the screen. the bus driver's head.

watch his head. it'll fall back. you can see he's clearly having some problems, and then jeremy points at him, he sees he is passed out. he goes up to control the wheel. the bus driver weighs 300 pounds, and he's seat belted in, so jeremy doesn't have access to the gas pedal or the brakes, so the bus, as you can see, is cruising along. as he pulls off the side of the road, it slows down. here's jeremy's take on this. >> the bus driver's coming up o this turn, and he starts acting funny. his eyes are budging and he's twitching in his chair. i run up, grab the wheel, take the keys out of the ignition. >> reporter: and as he takes the keys out of the ignition, then the bus starts to slow down, but as this whole thing was happening, megyn, they're going into a turn, as jeremy said. he told the students to call 911, and some of them did. but here's others outside of the bus who also called 911. listen.

>> reporter: yeah, somebody doing cpr, jeremy and his friend grabbed the bus driver, pulled him out of the seat, they're the ones that began the cpr, and a school administrator happened by, jumped on the bus and also began doing cpr. the driver was take on the a hospital, he is now in grave condition. he was breathing when they took him away, now this makes jeremy want to look toward the future. listen. >> when something major happens, i always look back to see what i could have done better. >> reporter: yeah. he wants to learn cpr. pretty amazing kid, 13 years old, in washington state. megyn: that is unbelievable. that is incredible. i mean, you only hope that your child would have the presence of mind and the courage, just the presence, you know, to know what to do. not only to run to the wheel, but to start cpr?

good for him. wow. >> reporter: and they practice this on a yearly basis, if something happens to a school bus driver how to react. megyn: but then to do it under fire, good for jeremy, and our best to that driver. let's hope his condition improves. trace, thank you. wow. well, the republican national convention -- no, no, the republican national committee is launching a new campaign video that takes aim at president obama's long-running message of hope and change. they claim hope and change has given way to what the rnc calls hypocrisy. watch here. >> you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. disguised as deficit reduction plans is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. you make a big election about small things. they must have been founding members of the planet earth society. megyn: fair or over the top? is we'll have a fair and balanced debate on it next. plus, the mcdonald's

worker with the pork rind baseball hat, she got national attention when she claimed she had the winning mega millions lottery ticket in maryland. now it turns out the real winners are actually three schoolteachers, but wait. we have some breaking news on this case. we have it exclusively, and you will hear it here today. >> we can definitely say that these are the only winners of the jackpot. so if you are referring to, maybe, some news items of interest last week, i can say that that is not the winner of this jackpot. wake up!

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8.

megyn: welcome back, folks. 1:33 here in the east, an infant was among several people hurt after a bad storm whipped across southern oklahoma. huge chunks of hail pummeled woodward county. the baby, we hear, was not seriously injured, but was hurt by some glass after softball-sized hail shattered a car window. a ship setting sail from the port of south hampton england, today, making its way across the atlantic to mark 100 years since titanic sank. more than 1300 people went along for the ride. they held a ceremony at the same berth where titanic set sail in 1912. that ship now making its way to new york city.

♪ megyn: well, the republican national committee has launched a new line of attack against the president now saying his re-election campaign is using the same tactics he railed against when he was candidate obama back in 2008. the rnc releasing this brand new ad calling the president's message a hypocritical slap in the face. here's a sample. >> if you're willing to work even harder in this election, i promise you change will come. >> president obama's campaign staff is already planning how to go negative on the republican candidate -- >> it's fear this time. 2012, it's fear of the alternative. >> the obama campaign said they wanted to, quote, kill mitt romney, that you are going to trash him. >> because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. >> this republican property passes like a tornado through america's nursing homes. >> if you don't have a record to

run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. disguised as deficit reduction plans is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. you make a big election about small things. they must have been founding members of the flat earth society. megyn: joining me now, leslie marshall, a fox news contributor, and lars larsen, also a syndicated radio host. panel, all right, that's the question. there are a couple of theories here that the rnc is trying to point out what it genuinely believes is hypocrisy, and there's another theory that they are trying to shut down these lines of attack on their presumptive nominee, mitt romney. lars, do you believe one or both of those, and will they be effective? >> well, they may be trying to shut down the lines a of attack, but romney knows he's going to get a hard time from the president. the fact is that is it an attack, as you said it is, when

they're merely pointing out what the president said four years ago and what he's saying now? it seems to me to be a legitimate commentary on the way the president behaved when he was trying to become president and the way he's now trying to behave when he's trying to stay president, and he doesn't have much to brag about. megyn: leslie, do you see some hypocrisy in the president's message versus when he was a candidate and what he appears to be running right now? >> no, not at all. i think, quite frankly, the republicans are doing exactly what they're accusing the president of. when the president was running and he had a campaign of hope and change, that was in 2008. we had a different economy, we had a different nation, we had a different world. now he's running for re-election and, quite frankly, i'm one democrat who says, hey, get tougher, fight back, mr. president. so, i don't know, maybe he was listening to some of us in the democratic party who helped to elect him. i don't think it's hypocritical, i think it's a new election and a new man. [laughter] megyn: lars, obviously, you disagree. obviously, you disagree. [laughter]

>> megyn, here's the thing. leslie says it was a different world. maybe leslie remembers, oh, 2008 differently than i do. the economic collapse that began in the summer and hit a crescendo in september, that was a different world? i mean, was everything wine and roses back in november of '08? i remember it differently, leslie, than apparently you do. megyn: the question is, leslie, remember when he was running back in '08, it was definitely more of an uplifting message. weave heard there -- we've heard this from some democrats, that they feel disappointed in how they thought he was going to change the tone in washington and instead maybe washington changed him as it does to so many politics. and if he goes negative, does try to kill romney, you know, politically in message and so on, does it change how people feel about him? does it take the wind out of the sails? >> well, you know, there are some people who want the president, the candidate of 2008. but i think that most americans

left or right are realist, and they realize that i don't think this president is being negative. this president is being passionate and adamant about points that have been made by those who are trying to take his job from him. and he's pointing out to the american people, and he's angry about some of these attacks and rightly so. and i don't think -- is it attacking back, or is it righting the wrong, is it pointing out facts over something you think is fictitious? i think that's what the president's doing. megyn: lars, it doesn't seem like many democrats are going to care if president goes negative on romney, assuming he becomes the nominee, but what about the independents? >> i think the independents are going to evaluate the president on what he promised and what he delivered. and when people like leslie saying say they're trying to take obama's job away from him, he doesn't own that job. every president has to earn that second term. well, the president made a promise. he said you vote for me, and change will come. well, change came, but it didn't

fix america's problems as the president promised that he would. that he would hold unemployment down, that he would bring back a vigorous economy. and the solutions that the president offered up then and that he implemented in the last three and a half years have not worked, and the president can't get past that. so now when people try to take his job away from him, he is failing to prove that he deserves another term, and that's a problem. so i guess all he can do is say that guy will be worse if you vote for mitt romney. now, i don't think that's a winning strategy. i'm better than the alternative? i don't think so. america's had three and a half years of this guy. megyn: leslie, there are, you know, now report that is the president is running or has his campaign run focus groups on mitt romney's treatment of his dog, on, you know, the amount of effort and money that they have spent looking into mitt romney's past, and this is not unusual in presidential politics, let's not fool ourselves. but how is that going to sound coming from a man who when he ran back in '08 wrote what -- or

said: what you won't hear from this party is the kind of politics that uses politics -- sorry, the kind of politics that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but as enemies to demonize? >> well, i don't hear any demonization of mitt romney by the president. between now and november that might happen, i mean, i'm going to be a realist, like i said. i think looking into, you know, how he treats his dog, etc., there are a lot of people left and right upset about that little ride on the roof, to be quite honest, but i don't see any ads talking about that. so -- megyn: not from the re-election campaign. >> right. i think what he's doing is what any president would do who was running for re-election which is to know your opponent or your enemy. megyn: panel, thank you both. >> now, megyn -- megyn: gotta go. sorry, lars. [laughter] a fox news exclusive on how one

patriotic hacker and his keyboard is wage ago war on al-qaeda all by himself. and when news of the trayvon martin killing was thrust into the national spotlight, george zimmerman wound up going into hiding. then the new black panther party took it to another level, putting out a $10,000 bounty on his head. today there are reports that zimmerman's family is ask the department of justice, isn't that existence the law? we'll investigate that right after this break. we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

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i can get a smartphone with verizon 4g lte ? it'd be so easy to check facebook, send emails. and the screen is easier to read in sunlight ! the universe is practically telling me to get a smartphone. it's like, "lisa, 'd be super cool if you got a smartphone. also, i like your outfit." thanks universe, let's get me a lucid. come in and say hellto your new, easy to use smartphone. the lucid by lg for only $79.99. verizon. megyn: fox news alert, there is breaking news on the election front at this hour. our chief political correspondent, campaign cal cameron -- carl cameron, has the latest on news we just got of a press conference that we are now expecting. carl, what do we know? >> reporter: well, we don't know if it's a press conference or not, rick santorum is returning to the campaign trail at 2:00 this afternoon in pennsylvania. he has been off of it for easter

holiday plus a day in part because of his 3-year-old daughter, bella's, troubles with a lifelong chromosomal disorder that had her in the hospital. she's out and doing better, and santorum had planned a rally at 2:00. there you see there's pictures of they're getting set up for what looks more like a layout for a press conference or a media availability than anything else. this is the first time that santorum's been on the campaign trail since last week when he was barraged with rampant speculation about dropping out of the race. at this event he will presumably make it clear whether or not he is staying in the race. he does still believe that while improbable, he can still compete in the race, and if he wins pennsylvania, go on and perhaps compete in texas and stay on, but they are reasonable about it. they've been practical, and there's also a very real possibility that rick santorum could be departing the race at this appearance now just saw 15 minutes from now. megyn: we will watch and wait. that would be a significant

development, obviously. carl, thank you. back to carl just as soon as we have news from the santorum camp. a decision that could come down any moment now in the trayvon martin case. will george zimmerman face charges for shooting the florida teen in what he says was self-defense? yesterday a special prosecutor announced that she will not take the case to a grand jury, that simply means she's not going to go for first-degree murder. that wasn't a huge issue. now for the first time since the shooting we are hear prosecution the man at the center of the national debate, george zimmerman. steve harrigan has more live in our miami bureau now. steve? the. >> reporter: megyn, george zimmerman who has been hiding but still in contact with police is speaking out for the first time on a web site he's created. he's created that web site to try to raise money for a possible legal defense fund, but also for living experiences as well since he complains that his life has been turned upside down, that he's had to leave his home and his job.

his fate at this point really is in the hands of one person, florida's special prosecutor. she has decided not to use a grand jury, a lot of speculation about a possible imminent arrest. trayvon martin's family say they are hopeful it could mean a quick arrest of zimmerman in the short term, and finally anger is building in the community of sanford just outside of orlando where the shooting took place. a police car was shot up, an empty police cruiser early this morning, at least six bullets fired, that car parked just outside the gated community of where the shooting took lace in february. -- took place in february. people are demanding and waiting for a possible arrest anytime of zimmerman. megyn, back to you. megyn: steve, thank you. we also have reports that george zimmerman's family is now challenging the department of justice, saying they have had to go into hiding because they are in fear of their lives, for their lives.

when this shooting first happened, the new black panther party put a $10,000 bounty on zimmerman's head. take a listen to this. >> we're looking forward to getting $1 million for the capture of george zimmerman. we want justice. we want this man to be apprehended. we want him charged with first-degree murder. we want him convicted, and we want him to get the county penalty -- death penalty. as we're taught, a an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. you kill my baby [bleep], i'm going to kill my baby. >> black power! >> you can't keep killing black babies, and some damn asian babies don't die because we are black people today, and we're not going to put up or tolerate that anymore. you kill my [bleep], i got to till yours. megyn: well, now we're getting reports the zimmerman family has sent this letter to attorney general eric holder asking if

those kinds of threats are not illegal and why no arrests have been made. joining me now, chip merlin, who's very familiar with the law on this. so the zimmerman family writes this letter according to the daily caller which says it has a copy of the letter signed by just a family member of george zimmerman, the name has been blacked out to protect his or her identity, is that a hate crime? i want to tell our viewers, apparently, it is not just those threats, but there is a wanted poster, i believe we have it, that the new black panthers general rated where you can see -- generated where you can see it reads wanted dead or alive, and it's got a picture of george zimmerman on it. is that a crime? >> well, in the state of florida it's wrong to solicit others to commit any type of threat against another. it's just the mere solicitation of another to do a wrongful act that can, under florida law, end i yo up in jail -- end you up in jail. i think there's much more probability they would get charged under state law rather

than federal. if you look at the entirety of what they were calling for in that speech, they were asking for the community to arrest george zimmerman for what he had done wrong. that is not hate, that is a call for the authorities to stop the injustice of what they perceive is going on in this particular case. not hate, but just a call for justice by the authorities. megyn: but they went on to say -- well, listen to this. can we run the sound bite? >> focuses on trayvon, focuses on arresting is this no-good devil, this no-good dog that killed an innocent child, and can that is the focus of the new black panther party. it is not that we're anti-white. i'm anti-wrong. the heat is on him, he's never going to be able to sleep peacefully, the family of george zimmerman must understand a life for a life, a tooth for a tooth, a eye for an eye. megyn: i've got 20 seconds, we're going to continue this on the other side. is that not a threat that can be prosecuted? >> megyn, it's absolutely not.

it's free speech in this country, and we've got to allow for that. he even said, we're not against whites, we're against wrong, and they're seeking justice on behalf of the martin family. megyn: okay, i want to talk to you about the wanted poster right after this break.

megyn: rejoining me now, chip merlin, who's a criminal defense attorney on this trayvon martin issue. thank you for being back with us. is this not, posting a wanted dead or alive, calling george zimmerman before there's been an arrest, never mind a trial, a child killer, saying he's wanted dead or alive and then saying on camera, he should be fearful for his life? you want our viewers to believe there is no crime in any of that >> well, that bounty for $10,000 is a lot more problematic. as i said, it is against the law to solicit or pay others to commit a crime, and that type of

$10,000 bounty might incite people do go do it, and i could see under florida charges filed on that, but when you read the posters that i saw also have the facts of the martin death placed on it, it might be part of this free speech. we want something done, and the black community calling out for something to be done, and they think there's been an injustice because this child slain was black rather than white. megyn: there's no question of whether justice was done in connection with trayvon martin's death. there's no question. but this is a different question that the zimmerman family is raising about whether a crime has also been committed against george zimmerman, in if particular by the new black panther party? i mean, is it -- are we at the stage now, chip, in this society where you can just say this, you can say that guy needs to be in fear for his life, and he should be in fear for his life because his baby needs to die, a life for a life in this country, and i'm putting up a poster that says wanted: dead or alive, this

guy's a child killer, that's okay? >> well, in this particular country we have a lot of freedom of speech, and people have a right when they're upset to say certain things. the question is that $10,000 bounty. that's what would be against the law because the that's an offer for somebody else to do something illegal to take zimmerman ted or alive. but -- dead or alive. but if you look at the entirety of what they're saying -- megyn: how would that be a defense? >> because when -- megyn: if somebody goes out and shoots george zimmerman, are they really going to be able to defend themselves by saying look at the entirety of the flyer, your honor? is. >> morally, be wrong to even call for such a thing, and certainly martin luther king would never ask for an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, because he wasn't that way. the call is for authorities to do something because what they feel what has happened in -- megyn: but, chip, that's fine standing on its own, there have

been a lot of people calling for justice, but not in these terms. do you take it over the line? we have people arrested for harassment for less than this, for not assault, but just harassment, day-to-day harassment were -- for getting on somebody, for prank phone calling, for following somebody be. forget $10,000. you're telling me i can post a wanted poster and say wanted: dead or alive, and call somebody a child killer before they've even been arrested, could be da that -- you can do that, and then say public oi on camera he needs to be in fear for his life, and that person has to just deal with it? >> megyn, again, it was in the media, there's a camera around, and it's obvious they're trying to raise attention to what's going on here, and they're calling for justice to be done. it's the entirety of what's being said on camera the same way you can say certain things. it's different when you actually

offer money, and that's where it gets really close in this particular case, that bounty for $10,000. but when you look at the entirety -- megyn: so you look at the context. >> maybe not the way you like it, them saying it. you look at the entire context of it. megyn: sort of how heated things have gotten. we want to tell our viewers we have not independently confirmed that this letter was sent by the zimmerman family, and the doj has not confirmed that to us, so we don't know whether in fact, they're in receipt of said letter or whether they are looking into charges in this particular case. time will tell. i want to ask you about the news today that the special prosecutor down there is not going through a grand jury. am i correct that all that means is. she has decided a first-degree murder charge is not in order against george zimmerman, but it does not say anything about whether she thinks a second-degree murder change a manslaughter charge or another charge might still be appropriate against george zimmer minnesota in -- zimmerman

in this case? >> you're absolutely right. given the quickness of what's been said and the advance notice, i think most on receiverrers right now -- observers expect pending charges very, very shortly. megyn: chip, thank you so much. >> thank you, megyn. megyn: see you soon. this is a fox news alert. we first brought you the stories moments ago when we got word of a news conference. rick santorum to meet with reporters shortly to discuss the future of his campaign. moments ago chief political correspondent, campaign carl cameron, got some more on this. he is with us again. carl? >> reporter: hi, megyn. well, senator santorum is in gettysburg, pennsylvania, a city with historic importance to the state of pennsylvania, the country and to rick santorum, and there you see the podium in gettysburg where his partial campaign goes into suspension. we expect mr. santorum to say based on his assessment of the campaign trail, an easter weekend that included his 3-year-old daughter bella in the

hospital for her chromosomal disorder which is sometimes fatal, he is going to suspend his campaign. we've talked now to people on capitol hill who have been made aware that preparations are underway for him to ramp down his candidacy, and there are those who have been involved within the campaign as well as organizers and supporters throughout pennsylvania and a host of conference calls this morning, and in a matter of moments rick santorum, trailing mitt romney in the delegate count, trailing in the polls but still in a virtual tie in pennsylvania, the state he represented in the u.s. senate for two terms, about to come forth and say this will be it. his was a very unlikely candidacy. for months he toiled in relative obscurity in iowa, a campaign that was doing it on the cheap, a grassroots type of campaign with very, very little money and little advertising. he merged first as the tie and then the winner of the iowa caucuses and has parlayed that into a position that regardless of today's announcement that he's stepping away from the

campaign positions him as a leader of movement conservatives, evangelical christians. in every single exit poll and every single poll when very conservative self-described republican voters, evangelicals and tea partiers were asked who they wanted for president, it was rick santorum who was the candidate of true conservativism and true moral values. that was not able to surpass or overcome mitt romney's advantage with money and national organization, so rick santorum in gettysburg, pennsylvania, in a matter of moments expected to, essentially, withdraw from the campaign, suspending it indefinitely. megyn: we are within the two-minute warning, probably about a minute away, we're told, from hearing from rick santorum directly. carl, while we wait, do you have any information or understanding of what the final straw was? even with the delegate lag that he was facing for some time now he's been saying he's in this thing til august. >> reporter: well, he's make the argument that it wasn't

because he thinks he can't win. rick santorum is a very, very tough grassroots fighter, he's proven that in state after state in this battle, and in pennsylvania up until as recently as last week, he was convincingly making the argument that he can win pennsylvania and then with a little bit of help from texas republicans have the texas primary at the end of may turn from proportionally-allocated delegates and tush it into a winner -- turn it into a winner take all state. but given romney's vast resources, he has much more cash than rick santorum, there's an attack ad that was set to start for the romney campaign today. santorum's long complained he's been unsuccessful in competing against that, so as both he, newt gingrich have said, sooner or later they would unite against barack obama. mr. santorum last week after losing in wisconsin, aides say began to sort of ramp down his criticism of romney and focus more intently on president

obama. that's precisely what newt gingrich did after he suffered some pretty terrible setbacks in alabama and mississippi, he began to get on to a more aggressive gop unity against barack obama. rick santorum had signaled he was going to continue to do that. he has lots of contacts and a national organization that he's built that will go long past today's withdrawal from the race. megyn: certainly, his name has gotten significantly increased recognition since he threw his hat into this ring for presidential politics. carl, newt gingrich has not officially suspended or withdrawn from this race although he definitely telegraphed that's what's happening on fox news sunday. now we're going to hear from rick santorum, ron paul has not said anything of the sort. is this a moment in which the party coalesces around mitt romney, or will more need to happen?

>> reporter: as long as it was amongst the three of them the other two would rally around the winner. no one has disputed the validity of that agreement. it took place at forum mike huckabee held two months ago. it was the super tuesday for up the candidates took part in. there is no question about the republican unity against president obama. rick santorum went through a long campaign. he had to watch a of -- watch a host of other characters rise and fall in the polls. it's the stuff of political science history books, legends, a candidate with so little money could come from the back of the pack and so this far challenging

a front runner who is so much better organized and so much more money. he didn't qualify for the ballot in a lot of states because he didn't have the organization to do that. but we see him being forward having bested the likes of governor texas rick perry. mr. gingrich made it clear he doesn't need -- what newt gingrich seems to be doing is focusing his attentions on delaware. if in gingrich were to get a good, strong showing in delaware that might be a high point and opportunity for him and his campaign. when they are suspended they can go on to tampa. it's not to say they can't take part in the convention and continue to make their case across the country. meg require want to pick up on that point with you in a moment. we are watching the santorum event on the top of your screen.

there is chip reid, a reporter from cbs getting ready to do his live shot. our apologies for that. he unless our live shot but that's how it goes. i want to bring in scott rasmussen and talk to you, scott, about the political realities behind this decision. >> rick santorum obviously a difficult decision for him. but the math was becoming more and more difficult. i think the focusing issue is he was at risk of losing his home state, unable to match the resources of mitt romney. the other reality is while a lot of very conservative voters are unhappy with mitt romney, they didn't want him to be the nominee. they say given a choice between romney and obama, they will vote for mitt romney. and i expect the republican party to unify pretty quickly

from this point forward. megyn: talk about how things looked for rick santorum in pennsylvania, his home state. >> the numbers were starting to slip. we showed him a week ago up 4 points in pennsylvania, and the romney team beginning their ads this week. there was a shifting perception romney was the inevitable nominee. that was beginning to shift support. i said last week that it looked like it would be a challenge for santorum to hang on and win in pennsylvania. i think that's the type of thing he pulled back from the campaign trail and began to recognize in the last few days. megyn: i want to bring in chris stirewalt our fox news digital politics editor. chris, put this in perspective for us. >> reporter: the biggest deal is the growing realization among republicans is beating president obama would be difficult.

there was a thought that republicans should follow their hearts and go with a conservative nominee that reflected the views of the base. but as the process has gone forward and you have seen the power of the president's reelection effort, an understanding has blossomed across the republican party that they are going to have to appeal to those folks that gave barack obama the presidency in the first place and mitt romney is the guy to do it. aside from a remarkable political story, a deepening understanding among republicans, they think mitt romney is the guy who can do that job. megyn: as far as rick santorum goes, he seemed to peak according to some at the ideal time. he had to take a lot of licks in these debates. it was late in the process that other had been eliminated. then he peaked and people started to get behind him and think he might become the republican nominee.

why didn't he? >> reporter: he didn't win michigan. you can take it back to this moment where santorum was doing better than gingrich in the south and doing bet whether republican base and making all of these things happen. and he it all his cards on the table up there in michigan, michigan and arizona voting on the same day. he planted his flag in michigan and was going to take away romney's native state away from him and he came up short. had he have won there almost anything might have happened. the momentum might have gathered. but as it was the tide slowly began to recede for santorum over a period of weeks and left him where he is now which is taking the high road and getting out. megyn: i want to bring in joe trippi. does this become the moment in which the republican party coalesces? >> reporter: i think have much

so. i think rick santorum has a chance to talk to his party right now. he said a lot of rough stuff about mitt romney but if he does this in just the right way and strikes the right notes and comes with concession and a conciliatory attitude there is a chance for the healing that lets republicans get together and start moving forward with their primary task of unseating obama. megyn: a chance for healing. the top of the screen has turned from a shot of the lectern to a shot of the corridor down which we expect rick santorum to walk moments from now. i told you 8 minutes ago we were within the 2-minute warning. we just go by what the campaign tells us. obviously they are running a bit behind. rick santorum is to suspend his campaign live moments from right now. and it is an important moment as stirewalt points out about the tone he will set. what will he say about mitt romney? what will he say about the general election contest facing

the gop? this is not just about rick santorum bowing out or suspending his campaign. it's about much more than that. there you see two fingers. two-minute warning again? they have got their balance. they are good. live tv, folks, we love it. i want to bring in former howard dean campaign director joe trippi. joe, it does appear rick santorum is about to suspend his campaign given what we have heard from newt gingrich and ron paul and his delegates that the republican nomination is now over. >> it certainly is. this is a big step for the romney campaign in santorum does suspend his campaign. the amazing thing is the campaign santorum brought to this. no one would have given him a chance prior to iowa coming anywhere but dead last in the pack, and to be in a lot of ways

the last man standing here is an amazing thing. but he has to make the right tone, hit the right tone here today to start the healing process. that's very, very important for romney to have the best shot at obama in the fall to bring republicans together. santorum is a very, very important voice in that and we'll see the first part of that today. megyn: we had some folks backing barack obama suggesting they don't care about mitt romney, they see it as a joke. they are thought threatened by mitt romney. but prior to today we saw top democrats and unions take out million dollar ad buys trying to defeat romney in states like florida and the president's reelection campaign seems to have had one strategy which was to kill romney. so which was it? >> the kill romney thing hasn't worked. he got the nomination.

i think a lot of democrats would have loved to have seen this go on and probably disappointed that santorum is suspended his campaign today. november is 7 months away. anything can happen here. no democrat at least while the obama campaign is going to take the general for granted and certainly not against the formidable money machine that romney put together in the super pack ma saline are are -- and tr pac machinery. it killed newt gingrich in iowa. it's impressive and it will be a fight in november. megyn: take you back months ago when we had 7, 8 folks on the stage at these gop debates. was there anyone other than mitt romney who concerned you more as a democrat, as somebody who would like to see barack obama

get reelected? >> i thought someone like santorum for newt would give obama a tougher -- give us democrats a tougher run because of sort of the strengths of their conviction, what they stood for. i think that is one of the weaknesses of the mitt romney candidacy. we'll see how that develops over the summer into the fall. but i was concerned about sort of the strengths of santorum's conviction and newt gingrich's conviction if one of them got the nomination, it would be a more polarizing fight that might make a starker case against democrats and obama. not to say i was worried about that. but more i think it would have been a tougher race. i'm not sure romney brings that yet. megyn: first i want to bring in radio talk show host guy benson.

guy, your thoughts on whether the republican party will get behind mitt romney whose approval ratings have continuously been in the 30s and 20s in some cases. 30s or 40s in terms of his support within the republican party. will the conservatives get behind mitt romney now? >> absolutely, no question about it. two words. barack obama. we saw a speech from the president last week tuesday that was you surreal in its demagoguy and dishonesty, trashing mitt romney and trashing paul ryan and taking the gloves off. i think mitt romney has improved as a candidate. we have to tip our hat to rick santorum and newt gingrich for holding his feet to the fire. you are not going to get this nomination by acclamation. you have to work for it and prove it. we saw an excellent response

speech last week to the president. even if mitt romney right away is going to start uniting republicans i think we'll hear a gracious speech in a few moments from senator santorum. i think we'll hear the same from newt gingrich. the animosity between newt and romney dwarfed any issues santorum and romney had. mitt romney will be the number one uniter of republicans because there is a monumental task ahead in november. megyn: we'll cut right to the scene when the snow showers on his way. we heard so much from rick santorum that mitt romney could not effectively make the case against president obama when it came to the issue of the obama-care. the president's healthcare law. is he able to back off of that now and where does that particular argument go from here? >> the supreme court might take

the issue off the table. depending on what happens in june it could be just the easiest thing in the world to say, i care about healthcare, i did something in my state that was controversial. but it was constitutional. unlike this president's law. we'll see what five, maybe six justices decide. that would be a huge help not just to the country. i think it's a monstrous piece of legislation. but in the shorter term in the political sense for the romney campaign where obama-care is struck down by one of the more well-respected bodies in american society, i think romney more than anyone else is crossing his fingers and hoping for a good outcome. megyn: we are watching a little bit more action. there has been an uptick in the number of men in the corridor. we are watching and waiting for that now as we are about 15 minutes beyond what was the

2-minute warning. watch it right here. rick santorum is set to come out and make remarks. we are told he is suspending his campaign for president. how will he set the scene on a go-forward basis for the republican party for which he has become an important spokesman. we'll watch together right here in moments. i want to bring back in chris stirewalt and ask you, what are we to make -- i think regular folks don't understand what it means to suspend one's campaign. why not say i'm out? >> reporter: you never know what's going to happen. certainly for santorum who has proven that he is among the most ferocious competitors in the game of politics you don't suspend your campaign for a logical reason. what if something were to happen, what if something were to happen to mitt romney or he was to stumble. if you suspend your campaign you

can turn it back on, come back out and get back in the delegate hunt. the other thing there is a lot of loose ends to tie off. you have got to pay off the people who were your contractors. you have got to deal with all of these issues of winding down a campaign. tim pawlenty just terminated the campaign today. so it takes a long time to get that stuff done. part of it is hedging your bets and another part, it just takes a while to undo a presidential campaign. megyn: we are waiting in pennsylvania. this was to be the next big contest in the republican nomination process. it's apparently not to be for rick santorum whose home state is pennsylvania. the number of bodies seems to be increasing in the hall. we'll wait to see if rick santorum is about to be one of the people coming out. it appears it may be so. bret baier is here from the d.c. bureau. if i can get you in and your quick thoughts while we await

the candidate. >> reporter: a lot of people saw this coming. it was interesting the negative ads promised about it romney campaign that were pulled out of respect for the family as they dealt with the situation with rick santorum's daughter bella in the hospital, never really aired. there was this threat, all of this ad campaign was going start again in pennsylvania and that was going to hurt rick santorum's chances there. today we are going to hear how he phrases this and how he talks about this. remember, that just a few days before the break he took into the easter weekend and dealing with his daughter, there were some pointed speeches. there were some etch-a-sketch statements made referring to the romney campaign advisor who used that statement. so he was pointed really last week and there was a bit of a truce that was rumored to be happening as you got back on the

campaign trail. now he's getting off the campaign trail and suspending this campaign it's a big moment for the republican party, and how everyone comes together as you have been asking about from here until the convention is really a key thing for the romney campaign. megyn: are we still talking about ron paul and newt gingrich? they are not officially out. >> reporter: they are officially still in. but as far as their ability to get delegates or prevent romney from getting to 1,144 doesn't seem real -- realistic. i think ron paul will be in this race all the way to make this point in tampa and likely at a prime time speaking engagement during the convention that his is a movement cause. but we'll likely talk less and less about those candidates as at states continue to tick off.

megyn: at this hour it appears mitt romney was able to do in 2012 what he was not able to do in 2008 which is capture the republican nomination for president of the united states. and that is something that certainly the romney campaign will be celebrating today as they listen to rick santorum. do you believe they have likely spoken? >> reporter: i would guess they have. this is the santorum family streaming into the room as we have seen many times, the children lining up behind their father. megyn: there is senator santorum. we'll take a listen. rick santorum. [applause] >> thank you very much it, always an honor to be here in this beautiful town of gettysburg. such an historic town. i want to thank everybody for the outpouring of prayers the past weekend.

we had a difficult weekend. -- good friday was a little bit of a passion play for us with our daughter bella who is the joy our lives, getting unfortunately very sick. we ended up in the hospital over the weekend. but i'm here to report to start out things that she is a fighter and she is doing exceptionally well and is back with us and the family and we are looking forward to spending a lot of great time with her. but it did cause us to think and as the role that we have as parents in her life and with the rest of our family, this was a time for prayer and thought over this past weekend. just like it was frankly when we decided to get into this race. karen and i and the kids sat at kitchen table and talked about our hopes and fears and our concerns.

we were very concerned about our role as being the best parents we possibly could to our children and making sure they had a country that was -- where the american dream was still possible. i think a lot of concerns that we had -- that karen and i had in particular for our family is with what was going on in washington, d.c. and all of the problems that you heard me talk about on the campaign trail, that that american dream was slipping not just from the hands of average americans, but for all americans. that that dream was slipping away. and that we had to as good parents to go out and do what we could to take on that responsibility for our children and for children across this country. so we started out almost a year ago now in somerset, pennsylvania. i told my story, our story, of our family. my grandfather who came to this

country and worked in the coal mines and my father who served our country in world war ii. as we went through the course of this campaign we talked about stories of our families. but after a while it became less about my stories and more about what kept us going were your stories. stories of people across america that we had the privilege of getting a chance to know and to interact with. when you travel around, one such story was a guy named chuck who had a pickup truck and joined our team. and drove us around in his dodge ram pickup truck for months on end and did so as a volunteer because he believed we provided the best opportunity to turn this country around. and i met a lot of folks in iowa that i'll never forget. folks like sam clovis who is a

talk show host. this fighter pilot, man of strong convictions, tearing up about what was going on with our country, particularly with our national security. and laying out not a three-legs stool of ronald reagan but a four-legged stool with the constitution being one of those vitally important legs we had forgotten about. people like wendy jensen who was our best volunteer. 5,000 phone calls. just a few days before primary because she was dealing with a disability, dealing with an illness, she passed away shortly before the caucus. but was someone that i remembered her fashion for the least of us, those who are on the margins of society as many would have looked at her. folks even today because of our daughter bella who come to -- came to our rallies one after

another in wheelchairs, bringing their special needs children and holding signs up for children saying i'm for bella's dad. just a beautiful idea again not my story, but their stories is what fueled our campaign and gave us the energy at a time when over and over again we were told, forget it, you can't win. we were winning. we were winning in a very different way because we were touching hearts. we were raising issues that frankly a lot of people didn't want to have raised. our best phone caller after iowa was a young man who came to our first event in oklahoma in a wheelchair named nathaniel who had spina bifida. and wanted someone who spoke about people who are overlooked

by society or don't seem to be as valuable as on theo others in society. folks like the duggar family who traveled around with us in their bus and gave their time and energy because they believed in the basic importance of having strong families as part of a strong country that we can't have a strong economy as you heard me say over and over again without strong families and strong northerly fiber that makes us the moral enterprise that is america. even fun things like the sweater vest. amazing thing that sweater vest. it happened on a night i was doing an event for mike huckabee in des moines and everybody was in suits and ties and i showed up in a sweater vest. turned out i gave a pretty good speech that night and all of a sudden the twitter-verse went wild saying it must be the

sweater vest. from that point on the sweater vest payment official wardrobe of the santorum campaign. the cool thing was we have a big part of our campaign as the manufacturing base of the economy. so we of course sourced that sweater vest in a company making them near the united states. and so we ended up going to that company up in bemidji, minnesota, in the middle of winter. it was a beautiful day. we got a chance to see that plant that had been around for almost 100 years. turned out we are the best customer that bemidji wool and mills has ever had in their entire history. so it's been a wonderful story after story of people who have come forward, two girls who put together a song in tulsa, oklahoma, who traveled and followed us around.

over a million hits on youtube of that catchy little tune they were inspired to give. even today we have folks work for us in texas to make it a winner take all primary because they want to make sure we have the best opportunity for texas and conservatives to have a voice throughout the course of this primary. it's been inspiring to me. the stories after stories we have been engaged with. it turns out it wasn't my voice that it was out communicating. it was your voice. the voice that you gave me from the stories and experience i had. and that's what people say how did this happen, how were we able to come from nowhere. base was smart enough to figure out if i understood and felt at a deep level what you were experiencing across america and tried to be a witness to that, try to be an interpreter of that, that your voice 0 could be

heard and -- your voice could be herd and miracles could happen and it did. this race was as improbable as any race you will ever see for president. i want to thank god for that. i want to thank all of across this country for what you have given not just me and our family, but what you have given is a voice to those who are in many cases voiceless. we tried to be a witness not just for your stories and voice, but to provide a hopeful vision. not a negative campaign. we weren't out there trashing anybody. we went out in iowa from our campaigns and painted a hopeful, positive vision for our country based on how we could get this country turned around not just economically, but reflecting the hopes of americans. not just the fears of americans. the hopes of americans, what we could do to confront the violent

radical islam, particularly the scourge of iran and what we could do to take on the problems of a sluggish economy and a washington that has grown so big. we put forth concrete solid plans, many of which came from the people i had an opportunity to interact with during the course of this campaign. we did focus a lot on the families and the dignity of human life and the moral enterprise that is american. i know joe klein will be upset about this. but one of my favorite articles was one he wrote where his headline was "rick santorum's inconvenient truth," and talked about things maybe we should talk about more but somehow get shoved aside in the public discourse. we talked about how we would build a great country from the bottom up and carried around a copy of the constitution. it was that constitution that got the tea party folks excited,

legitimately so about the operator's manual of america being discarded by those in washington. what i tried to bring to the battle was what abraham lincoln brought to his battlefield in 1863 november 19 when he talked about this country being conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal. he was of course quoting the declaration of independence. we talked about that declaration as the heart of american exceptionalism as to who we are. we can never go forward as a great and powerful country again unless we remember who we are and what makes us americans. that's what our campaign was about. about what made us americans. how we built this country from the bottom up and how if we are going to be successful in the future how we must believe in ourselves and believe in that ability to go forward and do the same thing. against all odds, we won 11

state. millions of voters, millions of votes. we won more counties than all the other people in this race combined. we were able to spread that message far and wide across this country. what we found is while -- we found that support and i found a deeper love for this country. every state i went to -- and those of you who followed me around, i said i really love this state. it was a love affair for me going from state to state and seeing the differences and seeing the wonderful, wonderful people of this country who care deeply about where this country is going in the future. care deeply about those who are out there paddling alone, who are feeling left behind and in some respects feeling hopeless. ladies and gentlemen, we made the decision getting into this race at our kitchen table against all the odds, and we made a decision over the weekend

that while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we'll suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting. we are going to continue to fight for those voices, we are going to continue to fight for the americans who stood up and gave us that air under our wings that allowed us to accomplish things that no political expert would have ever expected. there is a lot of greatness, a lot of greatness in this country. we just need leaders who believe in that, who are willing to give voice to that. who are willing to raise us up instead of trying to provide for us and do for us what we can better do for ourselves. that's the message that came to me and it's one i feel very good about continuing to talk to americans about. i walked out after the iowa caucus victory and said game on.

i know a lot of folks are going to write, maybe even at the white house, game over. but this game is a long long long ways from over. we'll continue to go throughout and fight to make sure we defeat president obama. that we win the house back and take the united states senate and stand for the values that make us americans. that make us the great just country in the history of the world, that shining city on the hill to be a beacon of freedom for everybody around the world. thank you very much, and god bless you. megyn: rick santorum at the end of a 309-day campaign for president suspending his campaign but saying he is not done fighting saying at the end of that speech that he will go on to work to defeat president obama to help the republicans retain control of the house and to he hopes win control of the senate, saying this is a love

affair for me, talking about his love of the country saying he found a deeper love of america in his travels, urging americans to believe in themselves and this country and talking about how against all odds his campaign won millions of votes. and was able to spread his message far and wide across is country as he campaigned. miracle after miracle he said. this race is as improbable as any for president ever. and went on to talk about how he reflected on the realities of his campaign this past weekend when his daughter bella was in the hospital and said it caused his family to think as parents, and it was a time for prayer and thought. for he and his wife and entire family who have been with him on the campaign trail as they home schooled their children in the presidential contest. also mentioning bella is doing exceptionally well. there are reports that senator

santorum did call governor romney and conceded to him in this presidential contest, telling his rival that he would be suspending his campaign before he told all of us and that senator and his wife karen had a conference call with all of their staffers who worked so hard on their behalf, announcing to them as well prior to his public remarks that he is suspending his campaign which he says in a way is not over because he will work to support the presumptive republican nominee. bret baier joins me now. it appears we may be at the beginning of at least in earnest in the election contest between governor mitt romney and president obama. >> reporter: you heard rick santorum mention the battle of gettysburg. 150 years ago that battle was described as the largest casualties of the civil war. it was also described as a

turning point for the civil war. today 150 years later, this is a turning point in the battle for the gop nomination which is essentially over. and mitt romney will eventually get to that number without his nearest rival rick santorum in this race. notably absent from rick santorum speech was the name mitt romney. he didn't talk directly about the person who will be the republican nominee. he did mention about all the different stories on the campaign trail and reflecting a bit. he said this was an improbable campaign. it's unbelievable when you look at where he was and where he went to. he almost didn't qualify for a number of our fox news debates. and you needed 1% in five recent national polls. he almost didn't get into those debates early on. i remember having conversations with him here in the green room. he would say you need to follow this campaign. i said, senator, we are out

there, but you are polling at 1.2%. and he went to 99 counties in iowa and made his mark. megyn: i remember when you and i were preparing for the december 15 debate in iowa, and we had a debate internally about this very thing. about how low he was in the polls. and i asked him at that debate, senator, so far everyone in this campaign on the gop side has caught fire at least once. but not you. why not? and he said, we are hoping the good people of iowa will help us campaign and they did. >> reporter: with no money. he made it happen with chuck the truck. the amazing thing is this is what is -- people criticize the process. but rick santorum wouldn't be here if there wasn't this process. the ability for somebody without

money, without a lot of name recognition to almost get to the gop nomination. it's pretty amazing. megyn: i want to keep you with me and i want to bring in dress i stirewalt and joe trippi. joe, i want to start with you. he didn't mention mitt romney. about it seems like based on past campaigns, time has a way of healing certain wounds. >> he will be mentioning romney in good time. that will be another step to see how this comes together. i thought this speech was excellent. it is a truly amazing american experience to be part of one and for a candidate like him to lead one from where he led it to today is an amazing thing. those emotional stories and the press falls into as they are covering these campaigns. we often forget about it.

but i think he touched a lot of people today with those stories, what he and his family and campaign have gone through. in the end as he helps bring the republican party together around mitt romney which will take more time -- i think it would have been awkward to do that in one fell swoop give up how angry and acrimonious the past few weeks have been. i give big kudos for his speech. i thought it was excellent. megyn: after all the talk about how long the gop process was taking and how ugly it's getting and how bad it will be for the republican party, we are at the beginning of april. we have 7 months to the end of october. will it all be forgotten or will it come back to haunt mitt romney. >> reporter: we did not hear the grace notes for romney, any nod towards romney. fit was a lovely speech. very well done and very

touching. but he did not give any sort of consideration to romney. he's going to need to start that process. as joe says, you work your way through that. how well he does that and how effective he is -- he endorsed mitt romney in 2008. if he can return and play that role, if he can find a way to be a spokesman on social issues for mitt romney and make the same kind of case that he just made for that crowd at gettysburg, if he can do that he will be an indispensable man for the republican party. megyn: mitt romney's campaign just made a statement on this. senator santorum is an able and worthy competitor. i congratulate him on campaign he ran. he has proven himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation. we both recognize that what is most important is putting the failures of the last three years behind us and setting america back on ought path to

prosperity. joe, let me ask you on this. when -- take us back to 2008 when the contest was very birth and very long between hillary clinton and barack obama. i'm trying to remember when that wrapped up, when it was official that barack obama had captured the nomination over hillary clinton. >> that fight went all the way into the last states well into late may. and really sort of got pulled together just before the convention in june. so it was a much different story. it did not wrap up at all as early as this one has. megyn: here we are months in advance of that, bret. that campaign, too, got very ugly between those two competitors. was it all a media exercise talking about how ugly and damaging it was or was the real? will that still have tentacles going forward? >> reporter: in the short term the unfavorables for mitt romney

are still high. one of the reasons for that are because of the attacks of primarily his nearest competitor, rick santorum. it will over time heal and there will be party unity that gets to the convention and tries to rejuvenate the romney favorables. we'll see that over this time. it's important to ♪ that we often talk about how long this process has been. but again we are in april. this is essentially where john mccain shored up the nomination, and when mitt romney conceded. and we are about the same place. it just took a different turn to get there. megyn: i want to update our viewers who may have missed some of the senator's speech and let them see the moment at which rick santorum made it official he is suspending his presidential campaign. >> ladies and gentlemen, we made the decision to get into this race at our kitchen table and against all the odds. and we made a decision over the

weekend that while this presidential race for us is over for me and we'll suspend our campaign effective today, were not done fighting. we are going to continue to fight for those voices, we are going to continue to fight for the americans who stood up and gave us that air under our wings that allowed us to accomplish things that no political expert would have ever expected. megyn: now as we look forward, panel, there is a question as there has been from the beginning about whether the conservative base is going to get behind mitt romney who newt gingrich has been labeling a massachusetts moderate and in some cases a massachusetts liberal. we have all covered that. whether that conservative base will rally behind a nominee perceived by many to be in the middle as their gop nominee. chris? >> reporter: i think yes. but mostly because of an tip

think towards president obama. because these conservatives grow increasingly alarmed about president obama. so i think it's because of that. so to go back to this point. romney has done much better than many people those would. the fact that as bret said he's wrapping this at this point. that he achieved the benchmarks he said he would achieve. that he has done this suggests he will be a formidable candidate against obama this fall. megyn: romney has struggled with white working class votes, so has barack obama. if you look historically at the elections it's been a problem for both candidates. does it become about white working class voters or do both men start focusing on different groups? >> romney has a lot of repair

work to do. the gop fight did cause some big problems with women and with independents in particular. his favorables, everything falling apart with those two groups in big margins that he cannot win if he doesn't close that gap. so, yeah, it's not just one group, but women and independents, he has a lot of repair work to do, and it's going to be how much of the santorum, newt gingrich, how much of this comes together quickly so that he can move on and start to reach out. that's going to be important to the romney campaign. megyn: i want to talk about the general election campaign right after this break. stand by. plenty more coming up. stay right here. >> a lot of greatness in this country. we just need leaders who believe in that. who are willing to give voice to that. who are willing to raise us up instead of trying to provide for

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>> i walked out after the iowa caucus victory and said game on. i know a lot of folks are going to write, maybe even those at the white house will write, came over. but this games a long long long way from over. we'll continue to go out there and fight to make sure we defeat president obama and we win the house back and take the united states senate and stan for the values that make us americans. megyn: rick santorum officially

suspended hug campaign for president 309 days after he announced he was running. but saying the fight for him is not over and suggesting he will work to secure the election of the presumptive nominee, mitt romney. rejoining me now, chris stirewalt, also joe trippi and scott rasmussen. we let bret go because he has a big show to pro pair for at 6:00 p.m. joe, you were going to talk about the numbers a potential mitt romney-barack obama campaign would be looking at. the real clear politics average of all polls gives the president a substantial lead. he's up 5.3%. what does that -- i know that's not your poll but it includes one of your polls. what does that tell you to show the president 5 points ahead of mitt romney. >> the polling has shown mitt romney and the president are

very close and very competitive. 10% to 12% of the voters are not committed to either candidate. what's fascinating about that is among that group president obama has just a 22% approval rating. so these are people that the president is going to have a hard time winning. you think that's good news for mitt romney but the question is if they are that unhappy with the president why aren't they romney supporters? this gets back to the same type of disconnect with white working class voters. there is a lack of enthusiasm. the good news if your name is mitt romney is not just that you have become the presumptive nominee but it's also the fact that starting right now the focal point of the race shifts. up until date was could romney win the republican nomination. now it will be about barack obama, can he defend his record. megyn: how important will it be for the american people for the

republican voters to see rick santorum and others who had their hats in this ring get behind mitt romney and make a forceful case for him? rue * it's important because you have to bring your base together before you can start reaching out. it's better to have that. but scott is right. all of us -- everybody has been focused on the republican side and the question of whether romney could do this. now the focus does shift. it's a two-man race. that puts much more focus on the president and the fight begins in earnest. if you look at the numbers, there are problems with women and romney and independents. but some of that will close up. but in the end, this is going to be a very close race. i think going into november. as much as there is an strong for the president, the focus does turn to him. that helps romney and the race

will get closer particularly coming out of the republican convention. megyn: newt gingrich was just on hike huckabee's new radio show and has discussed finally getting to be one-on-one with mitt romney saying he did not get a heads up about rick santorum's announcement. he says i'm not focused on going after romney. i want to focus on the issues and barack obama. that's similar to what he said on "fox news sunday." but the reality for him delegate wise is romney is the presumptive nominee. chris stirewalt, what do we expect now from the mainstream media when it comes to coverage of mitt romney. >> a lot more scrutiny. a lot tougher than it's been. he's in for it. he better be ready for it. megyn: here we go. general election. it will get interesting. gentlemen, thank you all for your help. we'll be right back. ♪

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