reports" bachmann is out,perry is headed to texas and he's ready to play in the south. today, we are live in new hampshire with only six days to go before the new hampshire primary. in this state, romney starts with a commanding lead and iowa win and today a new endorsement any minute from now from john mccain. rick santorum has all the momentum, but does he have the organization and the money for the long haul? and what about huntsman? >> nobody here really cares about what happened in iowa. >> and despite his disappointing fourth place finish, newt gingrich revs up to go against mitt romney. >> he's not truthful about his record or background or truthful about his pac which has his staff running it and his millionaire friends donating to it. although in secret.

in ohio, obama is announcing that the recess appointment of the new consumer watchdog to replace elizabeth warren. we'll bring that to you live. he's back. jon stewart back from the holiday, he covers the iowa caucus, his own way, by chann channelling forrest gump. >> you tried all of them, except this one. this is the only one you never tried because you know it sucks. this one, that's santorum. the one you try to pawn of on one of your cousins, oh, yeah. >> good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in manchester, new hampshire. now that's six. michele bachmann has dropped out of the presid disappoiing performance in the state where she was born. well, conservatives now rally around rick santorum who lost last night to mitt romney in only eight votes. surging into single-digits from behind. can rick perry who is in for now

make a comeback after in south carolina after barely cracking double digits? and dan, you have watched campaigns in iowa and new hampshire, campaigns around the country. have you ever seen anything like this iowa caucus finish? >> never. last night was one of the most thrilling nights now can see as a political thiler. numbers going back and forth all evening. it was a stunning evening. it was so a remarkable victory for governor roomy and a remarkable finish by rick santorum and ron paul got what everybody thought he might get, somewhere in the low 20s. you had a top tier that is a surprise to a lot of people. >> let's talk about mitt romney first. he didn't crack the ceiling. in fact, got a handful fewer votes than he got four years ago. does that weaken him coming into new hampshire where he has played so big and so strong? >> i don't think it weakens him for new hampshire. i mean, to have won the iowa caucuses is a feather in his cap. no republican has won both iowa

and new hampshire in the modern era. he's in a position to be able to do that. this is a strong state for him, so in a sense nothing happened last night that really dents him. but as you point out it is a reminder of how so many people in the republican party despite the fact that he's been the frontrunner the entire year still a reluctant -- reluctant to embrace him. that's an issue that he will have to address going forward, it may not be a factor here in new hampshire. but going forward it certainly is. >> can rick santorum really play in new hampshire and can he go the distance? will money now come pouring in? >> he spent a lot of time here as in iowa. he doesn't have the struck and he doesn't have the slingshot that he was riding in iowa. i think it will be much tougher here. the electorate is -- has far fewer evangelical christians, more moderate republicans. he's a hot candidate at this moment and new hampshire, you know, voters tend to try to be

indpe ind -- independent minded. i think this is a difficult state for him. going forward he'll get an infusion of money. i think he's a surprise candidate. he'll get that. but probably not enough to really do what he must do to take on mitt romney. >> and just briefly, ron paul. can he come into new hampshire and get any traction in state like this? >> well, this is a state that will set up reasonably well for him. i think he'll get a decent vote, but the same questions about ron paul will exist here as in iowa. >> thanks so much, dan balz. exciting time in politics. only gets better from here. fresh off the iowa win, mitt romney is already in new hampshire for the next leg of his campaign. he's taken that momentum and is holding a town hall meeting at this hour. he took a victory lap earlier and he responded to newt gingrich isola gingri gingrich's latest attacks on him. >> i understand the speaker is pretty disappointed. he was in the lead nationally and finished in the fourth spot. and you know, i can understand that disappointment.

and, you know, i understand he also is going to get out there and make his case, that's his right. and he's a good, strong person. and, you know, i wish him well and wish calista well. >> beyond gingrich, mitt romney is focussed on his closest rival, rick santorum. the photo finish, eight votes gives the santorum bragging rights and an influx of cash. he noted his rival's new surge. >> now that rick santorum has gotten a big boost out of iowa i'm sure people will look at our respective positions. i don't know where he is on the tax reform program. on international trade. those are things that we'll get a better chance to look at. >> kevin madden is the former press secondary during mitt romney's presidential campaign in 2008. welcome, congratulations. a bwin is a win. you were so disappointed last time in iowa and that -- as a

result, mitt romney didn't go in early in iowa. but he had been there all along. he had sort of a shadow campaign. how -- to use dan balz's term, how dented is he by the fact that this was a virtual tie? >> oh, no, i think we're very encouraged by the fact that we believe that iowa was going to be a very competitive state, a tough state to win. so we're very heartened by the fact that so many people did respond to mitt romney's message and did support him enough to win that state. it provides us a great deal of momentum as we go to -- as we arrive in new hampshire and try to take the same arguments about why he's in the best position to take on obama in the national election and address the number one concern, which is who's going to put the economy back to work? governor romney's resume has us positioned towards the nomination. so we are feeling very good, but we're by no means taking

anything for granted. >> what about the fact that rick santorum with no organization, much less money, not the television campaign, managed to do this door by door practically and tie him? >> i think it's a credit to his hard work. iowa is a very unique state in that regard. people go through a very strong course of considerations of all the candidates, then they break at the last minute. i think his organization came together to the point where he was able to compete and do very well at the end. and this is a credit to their campaign. i think the bigger question now is which candidates are best positioned in these other early primary states where it takes a much bigger organization. it takes more resources and it takes a much more focused and disciplined message and organization to get all the way through to the nomination. i think it becomes increasingly clear as the contrast between governor romney and santorum emerge, i think romney can beat barack obama in the general

election. i think that will be an important consideration for a lot of republicans going forward. >> rick santorum had real economic blue collar message last night. he talked about the coal miner grandfather, immigrant grandfather. he has tremendous appeal which he suggests makes him more electable than mitt romney. >> yeah, i think his background and the -- some of the statements he made last night does show that appeal. i think the biggest contrast as we decide to pick who our nominee is, which of the candidates is best positioned to lead the country into the future, given their experience and their resume and i think governor romney having been outside of washington, having real-world experience in the economy that he's in much better position than someone like santorum who spent his career inside washington, voting on capitol hill. you know, has a history of -- on the spending side of being an earmarker. i think those are very fact-based differences between the candidates that are again going to emerge as a lot of these voters in the early

primary states go through their consideration. >> and what about newt gingrich? he's a dog, you know, champing on his ankle. he's going after them, and as mark halperin said last night, an angry newt gingrich is far more dangerous than a happy newt gingrich. >> look, he is obviously very angry. he's very bitter at the results that he had, that he experienced in iowa. but you have do remember that as an organization and also as a candidate, the romney organization, this is not our first rodeo. we recognize that people are going to sharpen their rhetoric. we recognize they're going to come after us, and that they're going to try to attack on romney. what we'll do is talk about the issues that matter, present the governor's vision for the future. and i think that we'll allow the voters to look at that and make sure we fight back with any charges with the facts. and if we do like in past, then we'll be in a good position to secure the nomination. >> kevin madden, good luck going

forward. and michele bachmann is out, but rick perry now says he will keep on fighting. despite placing a very disappointing fifth in iowa. the governor tweeted today, "the next leg of the marathon is the palmetto state, here we go south carolina." steve forbes has been an outspoken supporter of governor perry and he joins us now. good to see you again. thanks for joining us. why stay in at this point? rick perry has spent a lot of money, he's worked really hard. he had a disappointing finish. where is he -- where does he see the advantage in staying in this race? >> i think in south carolina, in effect he can begin again. he got off to a bad start in iowa, was not able to recover from it. but he does have a strong platfo platform. he has resources and friends in south carolina. why not see if he can get itted up again?

even though romney got an eight-vote victory, he still wasn't able to pierce that 25% level. he will win new hampshire but he's got a race on his hands & especially in south carolina. that's going to be a real donnybrook, that state. >> what about the economic message that he wants to make? rick santorum had very strong blue collar appeal which could be perhaps unexpectedly effective against barack obama in a general election. >> it could be. he's also got a tax plan which doesn't go as far as a flat tax that governor perry has, or that i would like. but it does reduce tax rates and simplify the tax code. there are two areas where governor romney has to focus on. one is he really has no real tax plan. it's very, very weak cup of tea. on that he must repudiate the idea of a value-added tax. he gave an interview with "the wall street journal" where he

said he was open to it. that was anathema to the republicans. unless he walks away from that he'll be harmed and he has to deal with healthcare. he did put in the mandate in massachusetts. that eef that's not going to sit well in south carolina and florida. until he deals with that he won't broke through the ceiling and become the true front-runner. >> has he had any conversations with michele bachmann? she doesn't have a whole lot of support, but she's got passionate support. does he look for her support or trying to appeal to her people? >> i think there will be some appeal from governor perry. i'm not sure they have had conversations yet. i think you let a candidate have a day or two to lick the wounds so to speak before making a hard outreach. but i think the key thing is, it's not so much endorsements. governor romney will have plenty of endorsements. he's had a bunch already.

but the key thing is his plat form and a candidate must have a reaganesque policy, reaganesque projection. governor romney has not done that on healthcare and taxes and perry has and others have do on varying degrees. i think after new hampshire this could be an interesting race as they say. >> thanks so much. steve, let me just clarify because we haven't heard directly from rick perry. i know he talked to reporters in iowa. he is staying in, so this is not just testing the waters in south carolina. as far as you know, he's not dropping out until after at least the south carolina primary? >> i have had no conversations with him or his camp this morning. so i'm hearing the reports that you're hearing. i did know that in iowa he felt that if he didn't have a good showing he still could make a stand in south carolina. so we'll have to wait and get a clarification. but he does have an opening

there and it wouldn't surprise me if he pursued it. thanks. president obama is an pointing a -- in consume -- appointing a new consumer watchdog. stay with us. live coverage from ohio. this is "andrea mitchell reports" live in new hampshire. only on msnbc. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? i had[ designer ]eeling enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough.

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dropping news right out of shaker heights, ohio. president obama will be addressing the jobs and the economy and defying republicans naming richard cordray, someone they on oppose and that's likely to create another uproar on capitol hill. mike, you spent so many years at the white house, and before that

on capitol hill. he's just asking for a confrontation. this is a fight that he wants to join. >> i think he's welcoming a k n confrontation. he's certainly going to be riling republicans and democrats. everyone from occupy wall streeters and matt damon, who said he needs to get tough with republicans. if twitter is any indication he has accomplished the further the latter. he's standing up, he's appointing richard cordray, even though the senate and the house are not technically in recess. this is a recess appointment, but congress isn't in recess. what they do is they come in order to avoid having the president making this appointment, richard cordray to head up the consumer bureau. but they come in every day three days, they're in and out, so they're not technically in the

recess. the white house called it a sham, a gimmick, the pro forma meetings. we have asked the house historian, no one can find an example of any president doing that before, which is again, probably something that the president and his staff here at the white house is going to be pointing out as well. >> i think they would just love a legal fight with the congress over whether or not they are technically in session when they gavel down for 60 seconds. that's not a tough fight for the white house to win. thanks so much, i know you're standing by as we wait for the president. joining us me is the msnbc contributor and joe williams. thanks to both of you. chris, let's set the table here for what the president is going to be saying today. the contrast to draw with the republicans, trying to step on whatever momentum mitt romney and/or rick santorum might have coming out of iowa to new hampshire. >> this is a fight that the

president knows is coming and is picking. we have seen him be significa significantly be more confrontational in the last few weeks of 2011. his poll numbers have i think theed -- have ticked up. president obama as a populous as a fighter for the middle class or as a better fighter for the middle class than the republicans. when congress is at historically low approval ratings, picking a fight with them is never a bad idea. i think the president views it that way. it's not by accident he's going to ohio. obviously, a swing state. mr. cordray from there as well. but a critical swing state that is filled with the kind of white working class voters that are going to be a swing constituency in 2012. and that barack obama is hoping to court. >> and joe, the president -- how is the white house viewing what happened last night in iowa? the fact that mitt romney is going to be tied down for a while, it's going to be a longer race than some might have

expected. won't be wrapping it up as quickly as we thought. that's all to the white house's advantage. >> well, this is a post christmas christmas gift. the best thing they could have hoped for is a continual republican nomination process. which does two things. the first is it weakens mitt romney who everybody still is presuming is going to be the eventual nominee. he'll have to go through some more fights, more slings and arrows. newt gingrich is loaded for bear. he's got mitt romney in his sights. the second thing it does is that it pushes romney further to the right which is making it more difficult for him to tack back to the center and get the moderate votes that both parties are searching for and that will ultimately decide this contest. >> okay, joe williams, mike vicar a. we're awaiting the president. we'll be right back. we're watching two live events on your left, president bush's expected to speak at any moment in battleground ohio and mitt romney is holding a town hall

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welcome back. we are in manchester, new hampshire. joining us again, chrysalis and joe williams, white house reporter. on your left you see the shaker heights, ohio, even you for the president of -- venue for the president of the united states. on your right, manchester, new hampshire, where we'll see mitt romney to be shortly endorsed by john mccain. the significance of the mccain endorsement on the day after iowa? >> well, you know, andrea, my guess is the romney campaign wants to blunt any talk he could be vulnerable in new hampshire. that a santorum surge in new hampshire could make him vulnerable. mccain is the third senate president of new hampshire. he won it in 2008 when he ran

for president. i would say be careful what you wish for here. i think mitt romney is going to win new hampshire no matter what. john mccain may help him win more in new hampshire, but it also reinforces the kind of mitt romney as an establishment candidate, mitt romney as moderate which is not a great narrative for romney as he goes to south carolina certainly. so you never know how these things play. that much. there are exceptions ted kennedy endorsing president obama being one of them. a nice moment for mitt romney that. talking, out. he's in shaker heights, ohio. he is ready to speak. we'll hear him speak about the economic message and the recess appointment challenging the republicans in the senate by

naming richard cordray to be the consumer watchdog. let's listen. >> it is good to be back in ohio. it is good to be back in shaker heights. home of the red raiders. i love you back. i'm glad to be back. i'm glad to be here. i want to thank your mayor, for hosting us today. your superintendent mark freeman. mike griffith.

well, and i know -- i'm pretty sure we have got a couple of congress people here, but i don't see them. where are they? okay. we have -- dennis kucinich. outstanding members of congress. doing the right thing every day, so we thank them all for being here. now, i understand the folks here at this school have a pretty good basketball team. boys and girls.

unfortunately i have no eligibility left. so i can't play with you. i want to wish everybody a happy new year. 2012 is going to be a good year. it's going to be a good year. and one of my new year's resolutions is to make sure that i get out of washington and spend time with folks like you. because folks here in ohio and all across the country, i want you to know you're the reason why i ran for this office in the first place. you you remind me what we are

still fighting for. you inspire me. okay. you do. now, you remind me that this country is all about folks who work hard and where responsibility pays off. an america where anybody who puts in the effort and plays by the rules can get ahead. that's the america you deserve. that's the america we're working to build. that's what i told congress before the new year they couldn't leave for vacation until we made sure 160 million working americans wouldn't get hit with a tax hike on january 1.

now, this wasn't easy. it should have been easy. but it wasn't. but in the end we got members of both parties to come together and make sure that you could keep more money in your paychecks each month and you're keeping that extra $40 in every paycheck because we made sure that we didn't stump the recovery. we made sure that families got the break that they needed, and that means more security for your families and means a boost for our economy when we have to do everything we can to keep it growing. because more money spent by more americans means more businesses hiring more workers. and so when congress returns, i'm going to urge them to extend this tax cut all the way through 2012 with no drama, no delay, do the right thing. it is a no brainer.

let's get it done. let's pass these tax cuts. now, we still have more to do. so today, we're taking another important step. one that will bring us closer to the economy that we need. an economy where everybody plays by the same rules. and to help us do that, i'm joined by somebody you might recognize, richard cordray. son of ohio, a good, good man. today i'm appointing richard as america's consumer watchdog.

and that means he is going to be in charge of one thing. looking out for the best interests of american consumers. looking out for you. his job will be to protect families like yours from the abuses of the financial industry. his job will be to make sure that you've got all the information you need to make important financial decisions. right away he'll start working to make sure millions of americans are treated fairly by mortgage brokers and pay day lenders and debt collectors. in fact just this week his agency is opening up a simple 1-800 number to call to make sure you're getting a fair deal on your mortgage and hold banks and brokers accountable if you're not. now, i nominated richard for this job last summer.

so you may be wondering why am i appointing him today? it would be a good question. for almost half a year republicans in the senate have blocked richard's confirmation. they refused to even give richard an up or down vote. now, this is not because richard's not qualified. there's no question that richard is the right person for the job. he's got the support of democrats and republicans around the country. a majority of attorney generals, richard's a former attorney general, a majority of attorney generals from both parties across the country have called for richard to be confirmed. your local members of congress who are here today, they support him. he has the support of a majority in the senate.

everyone agrees richard is more than qualified. so what's the problem you might ask. the only reason republicans in the senate have blocked richard is because they don't agree with the law that's set up a consumer watchdog in the first place. they want to weaken the law. they want to water it down. and by the way, a lot of folks in the financial industry have poured millions of dollars to try to water it down. that makes no sense. does anybody think that the reason that we got in such a financial mess, the worst financial crisis since the great depression, the worst economic crisis in a generation, that the reason was because of too much oversight of the financial industry? of course not. we shouldn't be weakening

oversight. we shouldn't be weakening accountability. we should be strengthening its, especially when it comes to looking out for families like yours. you know, the financial firms have armies of lobbyists in washington looking out for their interests. you need somebody looking out for your interests and fighting for you and that's richard cordray. now, i have to say richard's a really nice guy. you know, you look at him and you think, you know, this guy is not somebody who's going around picking fights. and yet, this fight on behalf of consumers is something that richard has been waging here in ohio for the better part of two decades. so as your attorney general, he

helped recover billions of dollars in things like pension funds on behalf of retirees. he protected consumers from dishonest lending practices. before that, richard was the state treasurer where he earned a reputation for working with folks from across the spectrum. democrats, republican, banker, consumer advocates. he had a great reputation doing the right thing. in cleveland, you have seen the difference that richard can make for consumers and i have too. and that's why i want richard to keep standing up for you, not just here in ohio, but for consumers all across the country. now, every day that richard waited to be confirmed -- and we were pretty patient. we kept on saying to mitch mcconnell and the other folk, let's confirm him, why isn't he being called up, let's go.

every day that we waited was another day when millions of americans were left unprotected. because without a director in place, the consumer watchdog agency that we have set up doesn't have all the tools it needs to protect consumers against dishonest mortgage brokers. or pay day lenders. and debt collectors who are taking advantage of consumers. and that's inexcusable. it's wrong. and i refuse to take no for an answer. so i have said before -- i've said before that i want to look for every possible opportunity to work with congress, to move this country forward and create jobs. i'm going to look for every opportunity to try to bridge the partisan divide and get things done, because that's what the american people need right now.

that means putting construction workers back on the job repairing our roads and our bridges. that means keeping our teachers in the classrooms. that means keeping our cops and firefighters doing what they do. protecting us every day. that means helping small businesses get ahedz. that means serving our veterans as well as they have served us like this young man right in the front. we are grateful for him for his service. these are ideas that have support from democrats, they have support from republicans around the country, independents around the country. i want to work with congress to get them done. but when congress refuses to

act, and as a result hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then i have an obligation as president to do what i can without them. i've got an obligation to act on behalf of the american people. and i'm not going to stand by while a minority in the senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve. not with so much at stake, not at this make or break moment for middle class americans. we're not going to let that happen. for way too long, we have had a financial system that was stacked against ordinary americans.

banks on wall street played by different rules than businesses on main street. they played by different rules than a lot of community banks who were doing the right thing across the country. hidden fees, fine print that led consumers to make financial decisions that they didn't always understand. richard and i before we came here had an opportunity to visit with a wonderful elderly couple -- the easons. and mr. eason is a former marine, served in the korean war. ms. eason makes a really good sweet potato pie. she gave me one. i'm going to eat it later after -- i didn't want to eat it before, because i didn't want to get sleepy having a big piece of pie right before. but their story was the story of a lot of folks in this region.

where a mortgage broker came to them, said that they could do some home repair for a few thousand dollars. and they ended up getting scammed. the loans got flipped. they ended up owing $80,000, almost losing their home and the repairs were never made. you know, those kinds of practices, that's not who we are. we cannot allow people to be taken advantage of. and it's not just because it's bad for those individuals. all that risky behavior led -- helped to contribute to the economic crisis that we're all digging ourselves out of. all those sub prime loans. all those foreclosures. all the problems in the housing market. that's all contributing to an economy that's not moving as

fast as we want it, and that's why last year we put in place new rules. new rules of the road, to make sure a few bad apples in the financial sector can't break the law, they can't cheat consumers, they can't put our entire economy in danger. many of these provisions are already starting to make a difference. for the first time in history, we put in place a consumer watchdog. someone whose only job is to look fourth the interest of everyday americans. we are so fortunate to have somebody like richard who's willing to do it, despite great sacrifice to his family. he's the right man for the job. so if you're a student, i see only young -- i see some young people out here. his job -- his job will be to protect you from dishonest lending practices and to make sure that you've got the

information that you need on student loans. he's already started up an initiative called know before you owe. that's a good slogan. know before you owe. you don't want to owe and then know. if you're a veteran, he'll help make sure that you aren't taken advantage of when you're coming home from serving your country. and you know it turns out that military families are -- is only of the folks who are most vulnerable to some of these financial abuses. if you're a senior, richard's going to help make sure you don't lose your home or your retirement because somebody saw you as an easier target. and that's what happened to the easons. and dia who i think is here, ms.

eason, you're somewhere here. ms. eason is down there. marine. , so don't years ago, they were approached their home. home. in ohio helped

now the easons are good people. they worked hard, they served they didn't live high on the worry who's going to look out for their interests and that holding hostage.

who don't. the right thing. time to do everything financial crises like the one we have been through from ever happening again and richard i know that you're hearing a lot today, you're only going to hear

as long as i have the privilege second to make sure this is a everybody. ten years from now and 20 years god bless the united states of >> president obama in shaker recess appointment he says of richard

cord r-- cordray to be consumer watchdog. of course they say they're not in recess, because they gavel down 60 seconds for every day. this is a legal battle and more between the president and congress. as we go to mitt romney is mark halperin, you flew in from that event. and romney is -- romney is over at the manchester high school, i think. >> a couple of blocks away. >> john mccain endorsed him. it was very emotional. let's speak about that. you spent the last 24 hours tracking that. >> well, the news broke last night, but to see senator mccain come out side by side beside mitt romney, some gasped in the audience. he hugged people in the crowd the way mitt romney doesn't usually do with a lot of passion.

he then did what the press corps rolled his eyes at, he told the jokes, all the ones -- >> from the straight talk expre? prisoners and all the jokes. and new hampshire has heard those jokes, too, but they love him. and mitt romney will say this is how you get a connection with new hampshire and i bet he picks up a thing or two. it is a statement about rick santorum's challenge now. now mitt romney has john mccain, bob dole, george bush. the old republican party to be sure but that's a big part still even in the age of the tea party, of the republican party. rick santorum will need some people standing by his side. >> you've got newt gingrich going after mitt romney now. hammer and tong. just really preparing to go very, very tough on him.

you've got rick santorum proving he could virtually tie him with very little organization, very little money. and ron paul is going to capture some part of that libertarian, some pat buchanan, live free or die sentiment and a lot of young people here, college students as well. so there is a triple threat. that's all you would say plays to mitt romney's advantage because they divide the opposition. >> they divide it up. it would take mitt romney making a series of mistakes for him to leave this state, tuesday's primary, in a wounded position. i think he is likely to be in a strengthened position. then with rick perry in the race, it sets up nicely for romney. but co-make mistakes. we have two debates coming up. we talk about the others coming after him. when mitt romney has been challenged in this race, he's come back hard at the other side and he's been so far very skilled at that. in the debates he's been very

skilled at counter punching. his super pack will go up with negative ads. we'll go after santorum, i predict, on pork barrel spending. the king of anti-pork barrel spending, john mccain, is today endorsing romney in this state. that will put the issue front and center and it will give romney and his super pac i bet you a pretty powerful hand to go after santorum. if they need. to he is not a factor in this state right now. if he starts to rise, they'll go after him. >> and newt gingrich already, this is the full page ad in the new hampshire union leader today. the choice, only a bold reagan conservative can defeat president obama. quoting the headline from this paid ad, a full page ad from newt gingrich. he has to prove he has the money to deliver on the promise. santorum is going to get a lot of scrutiny now. rick santorum, after left, he was defeated in pennsylvania by his 17 points. he then joined a law firm and there is some question as to what that firm did.

what kind of, quote, consulting and lobbying. a lot of opposition research will be done on the santorum record. >> there will be some organic work done by organizations but you will see it hand to the organizations from boston, from the romney operation. and rick santorum, i have to say, i've been impressed so far at his mindset about how to deal with this. not getting emotional the way speaker gingrich did when he was attacked. i think santorum has a chance to handle this stuff but it will be a lot of incoming with limited resources, and again, the romney operation has been very skilled. i asked governor romney this morning on morning joe, how would you contrast yourself on issue positions with rick santorum? not on your biographies? he said i haven't really paid attention to what rick santorum believes. i was focused more on rick perry and newt gingrich. they're going to focus on what rick santorum believes and you will see a lot of communication with voters. let's see if he is a threat beyond iowa.

>> and this is mccain a moment ago when he was endorsing mitt romney. >> with some nostalgia that i return to this place that i love so well. but i am really here for one reason and one reason only. and that is to make sure that we make mitt romney the next president of the united states of america and new hampshire is the state that will catapult him on to victory in a very short period of time. that's why i'm here. >> and that certainly reminiscent. joining us to wrap up the show for what to look for in the next 24, chris cillizza joining mark halperrin and me. one of the things that was really notable last night was the lowering of the teleprompters at the romney victory speech following santorum's, i thought, politically brilliant speech. hitting all the right notes. >> yeah. first of all, i always love

being out with mark because he is one of the smartest guys out there. second of all, the contrast between, they all happened after 12:30 at night on the east coast so most people probably didn't see them. the could that tras between santorum's speech which was heartfelt, a populist message and romney's speech, a pure stump speech. if you spent five minutes covering mitt romney, you've heard it before, was striking. it probably doesn't make a difference but there was clearly a difference there. and santorum showed, he is not somebody who can be totally dismissed. he has some abilities. >> thanks so much. we're out of time. mark, thank you. and that does it for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. tomorrow we're live in new hampshire again with the latest on the republican ground game. my colleague tamron hall has the latest. bachmann is out. perry is still in. he claims he's moving to south carolina where there are real republicans with real primaries. in the meantime, front-runners

romney and santorum are in new hampshire ready to brawl after a battle to the bitter end in iowa. our news nation political panel will talk about that and also discuss the president's big move against republicans in congress today. and developing news out of texas. police shoot and killed an eighth grade student in the hallway at his school after police say he flashed a gun. details on this developing news out of texas on "news nation." a. a. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. ♪ imagine zero pollutants in our environment. or zero dependency on foreign oil.

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right now on "news nation" -- >> last night the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so i have decided to stand aside. >> one down and at least one against the road. iowa may not guarantee the gop nomination but it has started the weed-out process in the gop field. congresswoman michele bachmann's wish for a quote, miracle does not come true and now she is out of the race. while most of the remaining candidates move on to