>> chris: the answer was yes, he did. that's "special report" for tonight. i'm chris wallace in washington where this kind of thing never happens. keep it right here on fox where more news is always on the way. >> sean: welcome to this special edition of manet and our cowbt down to the caucuses. for decades, this has kicked off the presidential election season. this year will be no different. you will hear from many of the republican presidential candidates who are hoping to walk out of the hawkeye state with a victory. the democrats, well, their politicians from barack obama to john kerry to al gore are all past winners. on the republican side, george w. bush and bob dole and gerald

ford were viktdorious. among those hoping to join that exclusive club this year is mitt romney. i sat down with the former massachusetts governor to talk about has strategy for victory and much more. governor, great to see nunew hampshire. >> thank, sean. >> sean: the polls have been fascinating. you had a challenge from michele bachmann and tim pawlenty. when governor perry came in, he was surging. now newt gingrich is surging. two people have stayed relatively consistent, and you ron paul. but you are at the top of the heap. how do you -- how do you explain that? what do you think that is? >> i can't begin to explain what happens in polls and how sentiments change over time. i think people have had the chance to look at candidates, the microscope gets applied and people decide if this is someone they want to support or not. in my case, i think people know me pretty well because i ran four years ago.

they want to make sure whoever we nominate can beat barack obama. also has the capacity to lead the country. these are troubling and dangerous times globally and domestically, we have a lot of people out of work. we have a lot of economic problems. we could face a greece. if we re-elect barack obama, i think five or six or seven years from now, we could be in the same position greece is in. so people want to make sure that we nominate the person who can actually win. >> sean: it's interesting, if guback to 2008, it was the establishment candidate was viewed as senator mccain. when it came down to the end, it was and you senator mccabe and you were viewed as the more conservative candidate. this time around, it seems that you are viewed more establishment and people are running for the right of you. what -- what do you make of that? in other words tseems it's come down to the way political analysts are saying it, it's romney versus the pro-romney versus anti-romney?

do you see it that way? >> i actually spend my days thinking about how do i tak my message to the people of the country and describe what i dolled to make america stronger with better jobs and a brighter future. i look at america and get a very positive light. i know right now, it's become somewhat conventional to be very, very critical, to be very concerned about the future. i know we face real challenges. but i am convinced is that what america has is what the world would love to have, the most powerful dynamic people in the world. i talk about that day in and day out and don't worry about what the other candidates are doing or saying. i focus on my message and what it takes to get this economy going to make sure we can pass a law in america to have a brighter future. >> sean: this may surprise you, but i'm a pretty competitive person. i was trying to see if i was competitive in a presidential race, we know that governor perry had a tough 54 seconds in one of the debates.

are you quietly saying, yes! or are you saying, uh-oh, that could be me, feeling sorry for him? >> in the case of governor perry, i was the guy who shouted out the epa. i think that might have been what he was looking for. i said, how about the epa? and he picked that up and that turned out not to be the one he was looking for. look, this is a grueling process n. those debates you are probably operating with 70% of your brain capacity because you have all the lights on, you never know what's going to come. there is pressure as you milt imagine. so we are all prone to make a mistake or two. but we have to be able to take our message to the people of the country. that's whatvy to focus on. >> sean: utle matle, some have been critical of the process. i think it's good for the process. at the end. day, whoever gets the nomination will face a $1 billion ad campaign, it's on obvious it is not going to be positive. and in many ways, we may look back at this primary as t-ball

compared to the hard ball that's coming. >> yeah, yeah. >> sean: so by analyzing and looking into their backgrounds and dealing with controversy, you think that's a good thing that we sort of vet all of them prior to the nomination? >> oh, yeah. i think the debates have been very helpful. i think it's been a good chance for people to know the candidates and hear them speak on issues of significance and to get to know us personally, to a certain degree. that's hard in a bunch of 60-second answers, but you do get some sense of the people. in the general election debates, i hope we have more than two ear three. i would like to have more of a chance for people to get to know both candidates. they think they know president obama pretty well, but i would like to see a more complete opportunity to talk about a wide array of issues and describe why it is he has been such a failure on international matter, on the domestic economy. >> sean: what do you think of the tone and the rhetoric that

the president has taken on? the republican plan is for dirtier air, dirtier water, fewer people on health care. the attacks against conservatives. >> they are well chronicled. maxine waters says the conserve tifers can go straight to hell. one liberal says that republicans want blacks in america hanging from trees. if this is before the general race, what are you expecting in the general election snip one of his advisers said their strategy will be to kill romney. that's not a pretty exciting -- so i am not looking for order to that. the president can't run on his track record. his track record is miserable. when he was running against president bush -- he was always criticizing president bush, he criticized him with regards to israel and the lack of progress and the peace process. how have things developed under president obama?

things are worse. the prospects for peace in israel are declined, not enhanced. on almost every dimension, his record is a failure. home values down. median income down 10% in his 3 years in office. it's a failed record. he can't talk about his record and get re-elected. so he will try to assassinate -- a character basis, his opponent. i am hoping that's me, but i am not looking forward to the attacks. but it will be a continuation of what we have seen the 3r last 3 years, excusing his fail tower lead by attacking other people. whether it was george bush or the congress or republicans, atm machines, tea party, you name t. he's looking for someone to blame. >> tsunami -- it's a long list. but now he's blaming the american people, saying they are lazy. saying they have gotten soft. you think about it, the list is

long. kiosks, atm machines, tsunamis and you blame bush. but now he has taken a tact i have never seen a politician take. he is blaming the american people for getting lazy and soft. have you taken very strong issue with it? >> i think he's making an enormous mistake. the blaming other people works in very narrow setting. but it certainly doesn't work when you are the president of the united states. it is not following the harry truman the buck stops here model. people of america will not forget that president obama had two years with the democrat house and senate, super majority in each chamber. he had his way with a whole series of legislative initiatives and those initiatives have failed. he borrowed -- what? $787 billion for his first stimulus. how did that work out? not so well. he promised he would hold en-- unememployment at 8% or below, never been 8% since.

his record is abysmal and he cannot continue to blame the american people or anybody else because he is the president and he has failed as a leader. >> sean: what do you think of his class warfare rhetoric-- the rich don't pay their fair share? 47% of americans don't pay a pen nefederal income taxes. he says over and over, the rich don't pay their fair share. what is your response to that? you would be represent -- you are a representative for the party of the rich? >> look, we have as a nation, an extraordinary opportunity ahead of us. we have a new century. this can be and must be an american century. the only way that happens is if we pull together as a people. i know there are people who want to divide america and think that will help their campaign prospects. you can't divide america. we have to come together. and all the streets are contacted in -- connected in america, we have to connect main street and wall street and the

suburban and the urban streets. we have to come together as a people. when president obamma was candidate obam ahe campaigned with a message of unity and change. he just hasn't delivered. he has done the exact opposite what have he promised in the campaign. >> the american people want to see a leader who is not in this race for themselves but is in this race for america and can bring us together, can work across the aisle to get america on the solid economic foundation and turn us into the job-creating machine we have always been and can make it good to be middle class in america. >> coming up, congressman ron paul will be here. but first, hear from one of mitt romney's biggest rivals, former speaker of the house, newt gingrich, straight ahead.

>> sean: for two decades, newt has served at the highest levels of government. when republicans gained control of the house, he was elected speaker and became the face of the g.o.p. in bill clinton's second term. now he is positioning himself to make the turn to pennsylvania avenue and to the oval office. but to do so, he need ace win in iowa. i sat down to talk to him with with -- about that and more. >> great to be with you. >> sean: there seems to be a little back and forth developing between the candidates. mitt romney is saying you have been a life-long politician.

you are making the observation that you think you are the more conservative and electable candidate. your reaction? >> first of all, i am a life-long citizen. my dad was a career soldier, 27 years in the infantry, i decided when i was 15, when we were living in europe, trying to understand what america needed to do to survive, how would you explain it to the american people and get their permission to do it and how it implement it would be my life's work. so i plead guilty to being a citizens who has worked as a teacher. i worked as a speakener public life. i worked in elected office and in private business. in every case, i have thought of citizenship as a key part of how i would define myself. think that's something we need more of. not less of. >> sean: why do you think you are the more conservative candidate? why do you think you are more electable? >> i think those are two very different questions. i am clearly the more conservative candidate. i had a 90% american

conservative union standing for 20 years. i helped ronald reagan and jack kemp devise supply-side economics. i helped speaker of the house balance the federal budget for four years, reform welfare as an entitlement, first tax cut in 16 years. take whatever your list of conserveatism is, there are places in my career where i have done that stuff. i have been consistent about t. i was for ronald reagan long before people began to quote him so that part, there is no contest. the electability thing is dependent on how you think elections work. i think in the tradifgz 1994, if you get a real contrast in a country more than 2 to 1 conservative, the liberal loses. but you have to have the courage to fight your way through the new york times and cbs news and ms-nbc and be steady in the contrast.

i think the person who is able to debate obama and draw a sharp and defined contrast has an enormous advantage. i don't think you go to the middle, you bring the middle to you. for example, american energy is a 79% issue. the new york times thinks the middle is between 79 and the 16% who are not for t. i think the middle's 50%. that means, you get 50% plus 29. >> sean: let me ask -- it is interesting, on the other hand, you sort of take it on the roll during the debates as a statesman. have you praised mitt romney. you praised governor perry, you praised herman cain in the debates and said publicly you don't think we should be firing at each other, we ought to be united in opposing president obama's policies. >> look. i still feel that way. michele bachmann did introduce the first bill to repeal dodd/frank. that's a good thing. she introduced a bill to repeal

obamacare. that's a good thing. she was a lot wiser about the super committee than most people in congress. michele bachmann brings a lot to the table. mitt romney is a terrific manager and would be far better than president obama. you know, you can go down the list. i think -- rick santorum is a genuine expert on iran and foreign policy. and is probably the most deeply committed person on how do we rebuild the family as the base of american life. i look at my friends and i think of them as my friends. vione opponent, barack obama. >> sean: you stated maybe a couple of weeks back in an interview i did with you that you thought it would come down to romney versus anti-romney -- >> not romney. >> sean: not romney. >> not necessarily anti-romney. >> sean: is that now -- is that now mean newt versus romney? >> i think the dynamic is changing in a way you and i wouldn't have thought possible,

okay? i am just-- and that is? >> that is, i stopped for a second because i think about the period where i kept telling you hillary was going to be nominated. you told me i was wrong. and you were right. i called you and said, i think i have to eat crow. >> sean: you thought i was off base on obama about ayers and wright. >> turns out you were the most prescient analyst-- interview's going great so far. [laughter] >> but in the same tradition of being honest and open, i didn't think this fast that we would get to where it might be newt and not newt. but the fact is, the ideas are penetrating, the crowds are responding, people love the idea of seven three-hour debates in the lincoln/douglas tradition. people like the degree to which, if guto newt.org, there is a substantive betweenst century contract with america. i am not sure yet, but i am

beginning to think, we may see a totally different dynamic than anybody could have predicted a month ago, including me. i didn't think we would get here for another 60 days. but it's clear the country's talking to itself. it is clear that across the country, people are saying, you know, i think we need newt gingrich because we need somebody who can debate obama. we need someone who has done it before. we need someone with substantial, big ideas. so i think, whereas i would have thought originally twould be mitt and not mitt t. may be newt and not newt. and that's a very different form lafnlt we are having to redesign our campaign strategy because we are 60 days ahead of where i thought we would be. >> sean: you said they were going to throw -- as much mud as me as they can, washington post, you have a blogger that is actively asking people to send in dirt on you. is that going to be problematic?

do you see any one issue that will come up that concerns you? >> no. if i saw it, it wouldn't count? fair enough. >> anything i can imagine, we can solve. but you don't know what somebody's going to, you know, 68 years of age, what somebody will make up or interpret or reinterpret. two examples. i think it's fascinating as a comment on our generation, that we moved from the national enquirer to the washington post, seeking gossip. i think, i mean ---- requesting gossip. send us your gossip. >> going on blogs, send me any dirt have you, you know? that was a perfectly good national -- back in the good old days when you had the newspapers you bought at the grocery store on the way out-- have you ever posed with an alien? >> i was posed twice with aliens. it was a very exciting time. i was shocked they got it out of security because i thought they

had been secured by the cia. but anyhow -- so that just tells you manage. the other part of the mud comes from a different -- it's in a sense, the reverse side of what you tried to tell all of us in '07-'08. obama can't get re-elected in a clean, honest, campaign. chicago politicians say, okay, kidestroy my opponent with whatever it takes and win. or i can be a good citizen and lose. i pick destroy my opponent. they are not raising $1 billion with the power of the white house in order to run positive ads. >> sean: coming up next, texas congressman ron paul will lay out his plan for winning in iowa. that and much more coming up straight ahead.

>> congressman ron paul has some of the most vocal and loyal support orts campaign trail, including those in the great state of iowa. say sat down with the congressman, following a debate in the hawkeye state. >> let's take a look at this. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> sean: thanks for being with us. >> i notice, you never gave a full answer to the question: will you promise if you don't win this nomination -- and you are doing very well here in iowa -- that you will support the republican nominee and not run third party? >> i will give the same answer i have given about 39 times now. i have no intention of doing that. i plan to do my very best and see what happens in the next two months. i upon not making-- i don't want to push you too hard, but that leaves the door open. so you are leaving the door open? >> i don't like absolutes. i don't like to say i will absolutely never do such and

such. >> sean: you will absolutely want support the u.s. constitution. >> that's different-- but the thing is, you know if you ran third party, i think people are looking for an answer because you would siphon off some of the anti-obama vote. >> wouldn't it be fair to ask the moderate republicans that are competing-- i have been asking. >> john anderson dropped out and ran? no intention means the door's open. so you are say that this door is open, a little? >> i cannot conceive of it. >> sean: you cannot conceive of it? >> i cannot conceive of it. absolutely no thoughts or plans of doing it. >> sean: a lot came up. it got very heated on the issue of national security and iran. with iran killing americans in iraq, you argue we shouldn't have been there in the first place, but they are fighting proxy wars through hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.

they were planning an assassination of a saudi ambass dosh on our soil. they clearly have said they want to wipe israel off the map. why do you think it wouldn't be dangerous if they got a nuclear weapon? >> i don't want to give them a nuclear weapon. but i don't think we should deal with that. as far as thinking that that should be the whole issue, i think you are losing the point because there are a lot of nuclear weapons around the world. as a matter of fact, those quotes about wiping israel off the map, just as a favor to me, look at interpretation, they talk about getting rid of the regime-- i have gone back on numerous occasions. no, no. he has said eliminate the state of israel, wipe them off the face of the earth. >> it literally says getting rid of the regime and remove from the pages of time. it is a lot different-- he's a holocaust denier.

>> i think they are acting in self-defense. ehud barack said that they're acting logically, they are acting in their self interest and if he was an iranian, he would probably think the same way. they have a lot to contend with. they said they were surrounded by nuclear missiles. but there is -- there is a gross distortion in this debate that they are on the verge of a nuclear weapon. there is no evidence that says they are on the venge of a nuclear weapon. >> sean: you talk about the declaration of war. viread the constitution, george bush got the authorization for the use of force. if you use force, that seems to meet that definition. >> but it was explicit to go after those responsible for 9/11. i voted for that. >> sean: did i hear you say tonight, i wrote it down, i wasn't sure the context that we killed millions of iraqis.

>> there is estimated, when albright was asked, you know, the subject of when we were bombing in the 90s, they said that there were 500,000 iraqi children died because of our bombing and sanctions in blowing up their water plants and all. thee said, that's the price we have to pay. so for 10 years, we were bombing them. don't you think we would be annoyed if somebody bombed us for 10 years? so in comparison, they can say we have kill a lot of people. we dropped drones in pakistan. what if they did that to us? that's not self defense? i am a believer that no country has shed more blood in defense of freedom for muslims around the world than the united states. no conte country has accumulated more power and abused it less than us. this came up in 2008, when you ran, i have asked every question of newt gingrich involving his background, his controversies. everything. same with mitt romney.

i brought up -- i really admire your fierce supporters. but! when i brought up the issue of your newsletters from the early 90s and some really outrageous things that have been written in there and you had gone on record saying you had no idea what was in them, that kind of surprised me. why do you not take responsibility for the things that were in your individual newsletters? >> in 2002, the texas monthly reviewed that and they wrote a long, long article. that's a villareal liberal newspaper-- i read the magazine which was libertarian? >> i did not write it. i do not support those views. they are tainted to make me look like i'm a racist. >> sean: they are racist things. >> i am the greatest defender of civil liberties, especially in the inequities in our judicial system and the blacks in prison and the drug wars and the number of black who is get the death

penalty-- i have to run. i have one more question. do you know who did write is it? >> no. i do not. >> sean: do you repudiate it? >> i don't building any of that stuff that they quoted? >> sean: for all of your supporters, i ask every other candidate questions of controversy as well. god see you. >> take care. >> sean: our countdown to the caucus continue as as we go on the campaign trail, along with texas governor rick perry and waterloo, iowa's favorite daughter, michele bachmann will be here. she won the straw poll over the summer. can she do it again in january?

>> welcome back to "hannity." we are showcasing some of the republican presidential candidates who are hoping to walk away from the iowa caucuses with a win on january 3, including texas governor rick perry. i traveled to the hawkeye state to sit down with the governor. let's take a look.

good to see you. >> good to see you, sean. welcome to corn country. >> sean: absolutely. we have a lot of corn over here. good to see you again. it's been a while since i will be on the road. i haven't been on the road with you, yet. all right, your campaign starts out gang busters, rick perry's in the race. a lot of excitement. you petered out a little bit. now you seem to be turning a corner. what happened in that first 100 days? >> i think the first 100 days is a sprint to raise money. that's what we were doing. we were spend egg lot of time raising money because we had. to we had four debates. i didn't have time to prepare, obviously, it showed. you know, i hate debates. i hate debates worse than dispinning as a pilot in the united states air force. but i practiced enough that i got pretty good at it. there will be plenty of debates. but here's what people are interested in, we have a great debater in the white house,

slick politician. our country's really pay egg great price for that. americans are looking for somebody who is consistent. they are looking for somebody who is honest. they are looking for somebody who is tough as nails, who will take a wrecking ball to wash d. scpr. say, you know what? that's all over with. we are fixing to cut spending and we are going to have a 20% flat tax. that's what americans are looking for and they will hear a lot of it. >>r. >> sean: your latest ad is, i'm a doer,unt a talker. you are concede that this debate performances were not up to your par, but you say, you will get better at them. is it important that whoever wins the nomination is able to stand on a stage with 50, 60, 80, 100 million americans watching and go toe to toe with obama and beat him on substance? >> i look forward to being on the stage with obama. i will promise you,il love to be on the stage with barack obama, talking about how in the world did you lose 2 1/2 million jobs?

how did you waste $4 trillion? i know how it creations. i know how to pull back the regulations that are strangling our small businessmen and -women. we know how it put policy into place in a foreign area, where it makes a difference for our allies. they will know whether it's israel, taiwan, south korea, america's going to be with us. they don't know that with this president. this is a president who gives a great presentation. he's slick and a great debater. but the fact is, he has been an absolute disaster as a president of the united states. >> sean: let's go through the issues. what surprised me in the debatings, you talktook a pretty controversial position on immigration when you were governor. you had most of the legislature, as you pointed out, supporting you. that's in-state tuition prices for illegal immigrants. do you regret that position at

all? a conservative base doesn't like that position, in other words, the votes you are looking for. what do you say to them? your record's pretty solid conservative, but that's not a conservative position in the minds of a lot of people. >> the federal government's comspleet and absolute failure to secure the border put a lot of pressure on governors to deal with the issues. >> you are required to give helt care, you are required to give education. texans made a decision -- are we going to kick these people to the side of the road and they are going to become tax wasters? or are we going to require that they become citizens of the united states and become taxpayers? we chose the latter. i would still do that today, considering the barriers, if you will, the arena that we have to work in. as the president of the united states, i am against the dream act. i will shut that border down because i have had to deal with it 10 years. i am putting texas rangers and national guard and texas citizens on the line over there.

they are being fired at. thank god none of them have been killed yet. but i know how it secure that border. when i am the president, that border will be secure and the issues we have been forced to deal with as governors, will start to be alleviated and then we can have a decent, thoughtful and economically focused conversation about immigration policy. >> sean: you think you can secure the border in what period of time as president? >> seriously, within a year. >> sean: nobody can come across the border. >> unless you want 'em to. if there is a point where we need that conservation, what is the type of immigration policy we need to have? what kind of people do we want coming across? we will know who they are. but i am very comfortable that you put those assets on the border. the only bottleneck with that is training up enough of those predator drone pilots. we have these other conflicts going on around the world. but we quickly can shut that

border down, bad guys will no know it in a hurry. >> sean: all right. you don't need the fence? >> i think there are places that strategic fencing. i think the idea of saying, listen, i am going to build a double fence. we are going to put alligators between it and lava in there as well. wong tries to outdo the other one -- that's 2,000 miles. the idea of building a 2,000-mile fence takes huge amounts of money and takes a very long period of time. but strategic fencing in the high-traveled areas where they are absolutely use it there. then, you aug.ment that with the most powerful piece of the strategy and that's the boots on the ground, driven by the aviation assets with riel realtime information. those three together make the border secure. >> sean: let's go to your economic plan. you gave two big speeches. one was on energy and the other

was the flat-tax plan. explain both of them. on the flat tax, you are offering an option. i want you to explain to that people. >> it makes sense to me that we need to have a flatter and a fairer tax system. i mean, the idea that we spend almost a half trillion dollars, filling out, buying accountants' times and lawyers' times to deal with our taxes -- that's nuts. >> sean: right. >> why not have a flat 20 parings tax rate that clearly has the deductions for home mortgages, has the deductions for charitable, has the deductions for local sales taxes and a $12,500 independent deduction for each independent in your house. you take the deductions from your pay, 20% of it, put it on that post card and send it to the irs. that will basically change the irs as we know it today. >> sean: governor, good to see you. thank you for your time.

up next, michele bachmann launched her campaign in iowa and she has spent more time than almost any other candidate there. but will that translate into a wayne win? she's next, saiai

>> sean: tonight, we are counting down the days on the iowa caucuses. it kicks off the presidential campaign season each and every year. one candidate decided to launch her own campaign, congresswoman, michele bachmann. she was born in waterloo. she hopes her local connections will translate into a win. now, i recently talked to the congresswoman about that and much more. let's take a look. you are getting very passionate in these deet debates. it seems that you want to create a distinction. that is that you are a conservative candidate. well you don't seemue are saying that you don't think your fellow

candidates are going to be conservative if they are elected. i want to you explain it people what you mean by that? >> i have been the consistent conservative throughout my life. i am 55 years of age. i have been very consistent as a fiscal and national and security conservative and as a tea partyer. there is a distinction between the candidates. we have candidates that have been for individual mandate in obamacare. mitt romney, newt gingrich. we have five of the candidates that have been for the $700 t.a.r.p. bailout. five of eight that are up there. that's a big issue. that laid the foundation for the automobile bailout and the mortgage bailout and it led the foundation for the stimulus. we have candidates for the global warming cap-and-trade program. that's something most of our primary voters aren't aware of. this is very important, this is in my opinion, the last exit on the highway to get this country back on the straight and narrow. if we don't get it right, it is

going to be really tough for our country. weed need a candidate to support our key conservative i'm. >> sean: are you saying this is convenient conservative? >> no, what i am saying, there is a difference in the candidates. there is nothing wrong with having the voters know with where we stand. i have shown up on the big issues of the day and on the fights of the day, i have been there, i have been there at the tip of the spear. i was the one who brought 40,000 people to the united states capitol to fight against obamacare. i wasn't in praise of the individual mandate. i didn't get behind t. do we honestly believe that candidate who is have been for the individual mandate will have the oomph and the backbone they have to have to get rid of obamacare? that's a signature issue of this election. our candidate will be

compromised if they stand on a stage with barack obama. and he's for -- that's his signature issue. our candidate can't be someone who has been for that issue. it's socialized medicine. the crown jewel of socialism. that's what is wrong with the united states. we have too much socialism. we need more constitutional conserveatism. i have lived that life, as a tax lawyer, as a job creator and as a fighter. i have been a stand-up candidate on all of these issues and i have fought. that's what we have to know. we are electing the person who is going to save this country because we are in serious decline. i am the candidate who has that ability to be able to save this country. >> reporter: what do you make of the president emerging strategy for re-election? he clearly can't run on his record. i don't see that he is trying or attempting to. the latest line that the republican plan is for dirtier air, dirtier water, class

warfare is a big part of his strategy. joe biden went out -- do you support the new stimulus bill or rape and murder's going to go up. so if you are against tyou must be supporting that. what do you make of that strategy? how far does that get obama? is there a percentage of the population that might buy into that propaganda? >> it's pretty clear that his advisers have a very clear agenda. that's stay with the base. their base is far to the left. so everything that you hear out of president obama is far left. that's how he's governorred and that's how he's planning to campaign. he has no inclination to move to the center. that's why i have no doubt he will be a one-term president. i see it every day. i'm on the road every day in cities across america. i have a lot of disaffected democrats that are telling me, they are vote for me and disaffected independents, they are voting for me. they want someone they can

believe in and count on, someone who is real and authentic, not a chameleon. they want somebody who has been the real deal. i am that real deal and i am getting their support. >> sean: coming up, you will hear from former pennsylvania senator rick santorum as the special "hannity" caucus countdown continues.

>> former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is banking on a big finish in the iowa caucuses. for months, he has traveled to each and every corner of the hawkeye straight. he was -- state. he was a recent guest on the program. let's take a look. how are you? >> i'm great.

thanks for having me on? you picked up the endorsement of the secretary of state of iowa. big for a couple of reasons because of his position in the state and number 2, he supported romney, as i understand it, the last time? >> yeah. we are very, very excited. matt's really interesting, he defeated a democratic incumbent in iowa for secretary of state. he ran a campaign very much like mine. in fact, i worked with matt on his campaign. he had a grass-roots effort. no one saw him coming. but he organized people and did a great job. he's a great guy with a great, young family. it's a real dynamic endorsement. he has a great following in the state. we feel this is another indication that our presence in the state and the time we have paid there and the vision we have communicated to the people is starting to catch on. >> you know, you spent a lot of time in politic, the republican party has a history that they always go to the next guy.

>> yeah. >> sean: doesn't seem to be working out this year in that there wasn't a next guy and it seems wide open. what do you make of it? >> yeah. i think that, you know, people are looking for the authentic conservative who will stand by their principles, a person with courage to be able to fight that fight. we have huge problem, sean. i think people who are going through and going through their rodo dex and trying to figure out, is this person the real deal? do they have the courage? do they have the integrity? the authenticity? does their track record back up what they say they are going to do? the candidate has risen and fallen, i think that people have come short of the mark. our hope is, obviously, that between now and january 3, people are going to take a good look at us, look at the bold plan we have put together and the solid leadership i provided on national security issues and say, you know, this is the kind

of commander in chief, this is the kind of leader that will stand up and make the changes that are necessary in washington. >> sean: there has been a big controversy over the fact that donald trump haze hosting this debate. i don't understand it, myself. governor romney, jon huntsman, ron paul -- they're not going to participate. you are going to be there. newt gingrich will be there. i assume that a couple of others will be there. i am like, why -- what's the big deal? you know, if donald trump's going to ask questions or anybody, why not have the forum? why not participate? why do you think there has been so much controversy about it? >> well, it is not like we haven't had moderator who is have tried to inject themselves into the debates before. i think that people are worried that maybe donald will do that. what's new about that? at least donald shares sympathetically some of the positions that newt and i who have agreed to do this already, share. i don't have a problem. people think he might try to take over the show.

newt and i are big boys. we can handle ourselves and we can make sure that we can get our answers out. >> sean: you did a lincoln/douglas town hall with newt already. a lot of people eye thought you performed very, very well in the debates. you haven't gotten into too many battles. the battle with rick perry over immigration and squirmishes. but for the most part, you like the candidates. you get along with newt. he's a really good debeirut. you want your point of view out. i would want to take advantage of any opportunity i can get for a national audience. >> absolutely. that's why, as soon as the invitation came out and we saw that newt immediately accepted. we immediately contacted news max and said, we're in. i would be very happy if it was just the two of us there in iowa debating. you know, we feel that we match up well against newt. i wouldn't be in this race if i didn't think we were the best candidate to lead this country

and to win the race, that we had the strongest credentials to defeat barack obama in the swing states that matter. i happen to come from. and we have what it takes to lead this country. >> sean: how important is iowa for you? it's very well known, you are a family-values, conservative candidate. historically and traditionally, this is a state that has agreed with people that have your position. what are your expectations to manage? what do you need to come out of iowa and say, all right, this is going to jump-start our campaign? >> i am someone who believes in the centrality of the family. it's the first economy of the country. it is absolutely essential to have a strong economy, we have to have strong families and we have to have a policy organized to promote and strengthen the family. i think that message resonates in iowa and everywhere. i think that most americans recognize how important that issue is. i don't think i'm an iowa only

candidate. bido agree with that you that has appeal to folks in the heartland. we think we doll very well. we are running, i think we are tied with rick perry and statistically tied with michele bachmann. i think most people don't think we will do very well. the pundits have written us off. i think we are going to surprise a lot of people. we are not like newt or mitt romney who have to finish first. we have to exceed expectations. we will get a big bump. people will say, this is the conservative alternative, this is the true conservative in this race. hopefully, you know, we will go into new hampshire, which is up in my end of the country in the northeast. i think we doll a lot better than people predict. we have spent a lot of time in new hampshire. we have had a lot of great support. if iowa can provide the spark, there is plendy of tinder on the ground. >> sean: senator santorum, thanks for being with us. >> thanks very much. i appreciate the opportunity.

>> sean: that's our time. thank you for joining us for this have special iowa preview edition of "hannity." i hope you have a great night. >> alisyn: it's friday, december 30th, 2011. i'mal sin filling in for gretchen this morning. well, it happens. good news in politics. candidate mitt romney taking a big jump not in iowa but in america and not just against the gop opponents. we will break it all down for you. >> steve: well, as mitt spikes, he becomes a target for his opponents. >> senator, i'm calling you out. defend your earmarks. defend to the people and the country the