resognating. the crowds seem to be energizinging him. he's got the jacket off, shirt sleeves roll up. he's become a youtube sensation with his al green cover. also, the republican debate that has again produced a shift in momentum, but now, we're going to take you, oh, yeah, they're cheering for the president. he is at the university of michigan and sounding a theme about high eer education. >> oh, it is good to be back in ann arbor. thank you, christina, for that wonderful introduction. i also want to thank your president, mary sue coleman. the mayor john peter is here. my outstanding secretary of

education, arne duncan is in the house. we have some outstanding members of congress who are here as well. who are representing you each and every day. give them a round of applause, come on. now, i love you back. so, i'm trying -- in terms -- boy, we got all kinds of members of congress here, so -- the -- oh, where's dennard? oh. dennard robinson's in the house.

i hear your coming back, man. that is a good deal for michigan. oh, they're trying to draft you for president. he's got to graduate before he runs for president. there's an age limit. well, it is wonderful to be here. i want to thank all of you for coming out this morning. i know for folks in college, this is still really early. i remember those days. it is good home, good to be in the home of the sugar bowl champion wolverines.

so, and with dennard coming back, this will be a team to be wreck reckoned with. i understand your basketball team is pretty good, too. all right. go, blue. it's always good to start with a easy applause line. look, the reason i'm here today in addition to meeting dennard robinson, is to talk with all of you about what most of you do here every day. and that is to think about how you can gain the skills and training you need to succeed in this 21st century economy. and this is going to be one of the most important issues that

not just you face, but this entire country faces. how can we make sure that everybody is getting the kind of education they need to personally succeed, but also to build up this nation? because in this economy, there is no greater predictor of individual success than a good education. today, the unemployment rate for americans with a college degree or more is about half the national average. their incomes are twice as high as those who don't have a high school diploma. college is the single most important investment you can make in your future. and i'm proud that all of you are making that investment.

and the degree you earn from michigan will be the best tool you have to achieve that basic american promise. the idea that if you work hard, if you are applying yourself, if you are doing the right thing, you can do well enough to raise a family and own a home and send your own kids to college. put away a little for retirement. create products or services. be part of something that is adding value to this country and maybe changing the world. that's -- that's what you're striving for. that's what the american dream's all about and how we keep that promise alive is the defining issue of our time. i don't want to be in a country where we only are looking at success for a small group of people. we want a country where everybody has a chance.

where everybody has a chance. we don't want to become a country where a shrinking number of americans do really well while a growing number barely get by. that's not the future we want. not the future i want for you. not the future i want for my daughters. i want this to be a big, bold, generous country where everybody gets a fair shot. everybody's doing their fair share. everybody's playing by the same set of rules. that's the america i know. that's the america i want to keep. that's the future within our reach. now, in the state of the union on tuesday, i laid out a blue print that gets us there. blueprint. it's blue. no coincidence, i planned it

that way, michigan. a blueprint for an economy that's built to last. it's an economy built on new american manufacturing because michigan's all about making stuff. if there's anybody in america who can teach us how to bring back manufacturing, it is the great state of michigan. on the day i took office with a help of folks like debbie stabenow, your senator, carl levin, john conyers, the american auto industry was on the verge of collapse. and some politicians were willing to let it just die. we said no. we believed in the workers of

this state. i believe in american ingentlemen annuity. we placed our bets on the american auto industry and today, the american auto industry back. jobs are coming back. 160,000 jobs -- and to bring back even more jobs, i want this congress to stop rewarding companies that are ships jobs and profits overseas. start rewarding companies who are hiring here and investing here and creating good jobs here in michigan and here in the united states of america. so, our first step is rebuilding american manufacturing and by the way, not all the jobs that have gone overseas are going to come back. we have to be realistic and technology means that a larger

and larger portion of you will work in the service sector as engineers and computer scientists, there you go. got the engineering, so there you go. and entrepreneurs. so, there's going to be a lot of activity in the service sector, but part of my argument, part of the argument of michigan's congressional delegation is that when manufacturing does well, then the entire economy does well. the service sector does well if manufacturing's doing well. we've got to make sure that america isn't just buying stuff, but we're also selling stuff stamped with those three words, made in america.

an economy built to last is also one where we control our energy needs. we don't let foreign countries control our energy supplies. right now, america's producing more of our own oil than we were eight years ago. that's good news. as a percentage, we're actually importing less than any time in the last 16 years, but i think young people especially understand this. no matter how much oil we produce, we've only got 2% of the world eers oil reserves. that means we've got to focus on clean, renewable energy. we've got to have a strategy that is producing our own oil and natural gas, but we've got to develop wind and solar and biofuels.

and that is good for our economy. it creates jobs. but it's also good for our environment. it's also makes sure that this planet is sustainable. that's part of the future that you deserve. we subsidized oil companies for a century. that's long enough. congress needs to stop giving taxpayer dollars to an oil industry that's never been more profitable and double down on a clean energy future that's never been more promising! i don't want to seed the wind or the solar r or battery industry to china or germany because we were too timid. we didn't have the imagination to make the same commitment here and i want those jobs created here in the united states of america. and i also want us to think

about energy efficiency. making sure, we've doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. part of detroit coming back is creating more fuel efficient cars here in michigan. and more fuel efficient trucks and we've got to revamp our buildings to make them more fuel efficient. if we are focused on this, we can control our energy future. that's part of creating an america that's built to last. and we've got to have an economy in which every american has access to a world class higher education. the kind you are getting right here at the university of michigan. my grandfather got the chance to go to college because this country decided that every

returning veteran of world war ii should be able to afford it. my mother was able to raise two kids by herself because she was able to get grants and work her way through school. i am only standing here today because scholarships and student loans gave me a shot at a decent education. michelle and i can still remember how long it took us to pay back our student loans. i will tell michelle you said happy birthday. the -- but i just want all of you to understand your president and your first lady were in your shoes not that long ago.

we didn't, we didn't come from wealthy families. the only reason that we were able to achieve what we were able to achieve was because we got a great education. that's the only reason. and we could not have done that unless we lived in a country that made a commitment to opening up opportunity to all people. the point is, this country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of all who are willing to work for it and that's part of what helped to create this economic miracle and build the largest middle class in history. and this proceeds even college. we were -- we helped to begin the movement in industrialized countries to create public school, public high schools. to understanding that as people

were move iing from agricultura sec to to an industrial sector, they were going to need training. now, we've moved to an industrialized age, a digital age, a global economy. we've got to make that same commitment today. now, we still have by far, the best network of colleges and universities in the world. nobody else comes close. nobody else comes close. but the challenge is, it's getting tougher and tougher to afford it. since most of you were born, tuition and fees have more than doubled. that forces students like you to take out more loans and rack up more debt. in 2010, graduates who took out loans left college owing an

average of $24,000. that's an average. are you waving because you owe $24,000 or -- student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever. think about that. that's inexcusable. in the coming decade, 60% of new jobs will require more than a high school diploma. higher education is not a luxury. it's an economic imperative that every family in america should be able to afford and when i say higher education, i don't mean four-year colleges and universities. i also mean our community colleges and providing lifelong learning for workers who may need to retrain for jobs when the economy shifts. all those things cost money and it's harder and harder to afford. so, we've got to do something to

help families be able to afford and students be able to afford this higher education. we've all got a responsibility here. thanks to the hard work of secretary duncan, my administration is increasing federal student aid so more students can afford college. one of this things i'm proudest of with the help of all these members of congress, we want a tough fight to stop handing out tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to banks that issue student loans and shift that money to where it should go. directly to the students. and to the families who need it. tens of millions of dollars that

were going to subsidies for banks are not going to students in the form of more, more grants and more rates on loans. we've capped student loan payments so that nearly 1.6 million students including a bunch of you, are only going to have to pay 10% of your monthly income towards your loans once you graduate. 10% of your monthly income. so that's what we've been doing. now, congress has to do more. congress needs to do more. they need to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling this july. that's what's scheduled to happen if congress doesn't act. that would not be good for you. so you should let your members of congress know, don't do that. don't do it. don't do it.

they need to extend the tuition tax credit that we've put in place. that's saving some of you and millions of folks all across the country thousands of dollars. and congress needs to give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work study jobs in the next five years. so, the administration has a job to do. congress hads a job to do, but it's not just enough to increase student aid. and you can imagine why. it, we can't just keep on subsidizing skyrocketing tuition. if tuition is going up faster than inflation, faster than even health care is going up, no matter how much we subsidize it, sooner or later, we're going to run out of money.

and that means that others have to do their part. colleges and universities need to do their part to keep costs down as well. recently, i spoke with a group of college presidents who had done just that. here at michigan, find savings in your budget. we know this is possible. so, from now on, i'm telling congress we should steer federal campus based aid to those colleges that keep tuition affordable, provide good value, serve their students well. we are putting colleges on notice. you can't keep, you can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year. if you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down. we should push colleges to do

better. we should hold them accountable if they don't. now, states also have to do their part. i was talking to your president and this is true all across the country. states have to do their part by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. last year, over 40 states cut their higher education spending. 40 states cut their higher education budget and we know that these state budget cuts have been the largest factor in tuition increases at public colleges over the past decade. so, we're challenging states, take responsibility as well on this issue. what we're doing today, we're going to launch a race to the

top for college affordability. we're telling the states, if you can find new ways to bring down the cost of college and make it easier for more students to graduate, we'll help you do it. we will give you additional federal support if you are doing a good job of making sure that all of you aren't loaded up debt when you graduate from college. and finally today, i'm also calling for a new report card for colleges. you know, parents like getting report cards. i know you guys may not always look forward to it. but we parents, we like to know what you're doing. from now on, parents and students deserve to know how a college is doing. how affordable is it? how well are its students doing?

we want you to know how -- we call this one of the things we're doing be consumer finance protection board that i just set up. with richard cordray. is to make sure that young people understand the financing of colleges. he calling it no before you owe. we want to push more information out so consumers can make good choices so you understand what it is that you're getting. the bottom line is that in an economy built to last, demands we keep doing everything we can to bring down the cost of college. that goes a long with strengthening american manufacturing. it means we keep on investing in american energy.

means we double down on the clean energy that's creating jobs in this state and guaranteeing your generation a better future. and you know what else it means? it means we renew the american values of fair play and shared responsibility. shared responsibility. i talked about that at the state of the union. you know, we've got to make sure that as we're paying for the investments of the future that everybody's doing their part. that we're looking out for middle class families and not just those at the top. right -- the first thing that means is making sure taxes don't go up on 160 million working americans at the end of next month. people can't afford to lose $40 out of every paycheck. not right now.

students who are working certainly can't afford it. your voices encouraged and ultimately convinced congress to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. now, we've got to extend it for the whole year. i need your help to get it done again. tell them to pass this tax cut, without drama, without delay. get it done. it's good for the economy. okay. now in the longer run, we're also going to have to reduce our deficit. we got to invest in our future and reduce our deficit. and to do both, we've got to make some choices. let me give you some examples. right now, we're scheduled to spend nearly 1 trillion more dollars on what was intended to be a temporary tax cut for the wealthiest 2% of americans.

that's not fair. a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle class households. not fair. warren buffett pays the low er tax rate than his secretary. i know because she was at the state of the union. she told me. is that fair? does it make sense to you? do we want to keep these tax cuts for folks like me who don't need them or do we want to invest in the things that will help us in the long term like student loans and grants and a strong military and basic research? those are the choices we've got to make. we can't do everything. we can't reduce our deficit and

make the investments we need. at the same time and keep tax breaks for folks who don't need them and weren't asking for them. well some were asking for them. i wasn't asking for them. we've got to choose. when it comes to paying our fair share, i believe we should follow the buffett rule. if you make more than a million dollars a year and i hope a lot of you do after you graduate, then you should pay a tax rate of at least 30%. on the other hand -- if you decide to go into a less lucrative profession, you decide to become a teacher and we need teachers -- if you decide to go into public service, if you decide to go into a helping profession. if you make less than $250,000 a year, which 98% of americans do,

then your taxes shouldn't go up. this part of the idea of shared responsibility. i know a lot of folks have been running around calling this class warfare. i think asking a billionaire to pay at least as much his secretary in taxes is just common sense. yesterday, bill gates said he doesn't think people like him are paying enough in taxes. i promise you, warren buffett's doing fine. bill gates is doing fine. i'm doing fine. they're definitely doing fine. we don't need more tax breaks. there are a lot of families out there who are struggling.

who have seen their wages stall and the cost from a college education to groceries and food have gone up. you're the ones who need that. you're the ones who need help. and we can't do both. there have been some who have been say iing well, you know, t only reason you're saying that is because you're trying to stir people up, make them envious of the rich. people don't envy the rich. when people talk about me paying my fair share of taxes or bill gates or warren buffett paying their fair share, the reason that they're talking about it is because they understand that you know, when i get a tax break that i don't need, that the coun country can't afford, then one of two things are going to happen. either the deficit will go up and ultimately, you guys are going to have to pay for it or alternatively, somebody else is going to foot the bill.

some senior who suddenly has to pay more for their medicare or some veteran who's not getting the help they need readjusting after they have defended this country or some student who suddenly is having to pay high interest rates on their student loans. we do not begrudge wealth in this country. i want everybody here to do well. we, we aspire to financial success, but we also understand that we're not successful just by ourselves. we're successful because somebody started the university of michigan. we're successful because somebody made an investment in all the federal research labs that created the internet. we're successful because we have an outstanding military that costs money. we're successful because somebody built roads and bridges. and laid broad band lines and

these things didn't just happen on their own. and if we all understand we've got to pay for this stuff, it makes sense for those of us who have done best to do our fair share and to try to pass off that bill on to somebody else, that's not right. that's not who we are. that's not what my grandparents' generation worked hard to pass down. that's not what yours worked hard to pass down. we've got a different idea of america. a more generous america. everybody here is only here because somebody somewhere down the road decided we're going to think not just about ourselves, but about the future. we've got reasonableties to

ourselves, but also to each other and now, it's our turn to be responsible. now, it's our turn to lead an america that's built to last. and i know we can do it. we've done it before and i know we can do it again because of you. when i meet young people all across this country, with energy and drive and vision, despite the fact you come of age during a difficult time in this world, it gives me hope. you inspire me. you're here at michigan because you believe in your future. you're working hard. you're putting in long hours, hopefully some at the library, some of you are balancing a job at the same time. you know doing big things isn't easy, but you're not giving up. you've got to whole world before you. and you embody that sense of possibility that is quint essentially american.

we do not -- we do not shrink from challenges. we stand up to them. and we don't leave people behind. we make sure everybody comes along with us on this journey that we're on. that's the spirit right now that we need, michigan. here many america, we don't give up! we look out for each other. we make sure everybody has a chance to get ahead and if we work in common purpose with common resolve, we can build an economy that gives everybody a fair shot and we will remind the world just why it is that the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth! thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless the united states. >> huge ovation for a fired up president obama. talking very specifically about what his plans are, this populous message.

he wants more kids to get an ed education, calling higing not a luxury and talking about how michigan has some things to teach the country about manufacturing and also again, challenging congress on these for example, that higher education issue. would have to go through congress and get its approval. but this is the president that a lot of democrats have been looking for. they're the ones who said we need him to get back his old mojo. they were happy when he was bold on blocking the xl pipeline. they were happy with that online privacy bill. let's talk more about this president obama. i'm joined by "washington post" columnist eugene robinson, ben white, politico. john harwood, gentlemen, good morning. >> morning. funny what rising poll numbers do for your mojo. >> isn't it amazing? and maybe even what debates on

the republican side. and there's been a lot of talk about the pictures with jan brewer. and you hear a will the of comments from his base saying he give it to her. he didn't back down. we were waiting for him to be bold. he's bold again. is this eugerouge robinson, the barack obama that haunts republican nightmares? >> people forget, he is really good at running for president. he's really good at that. and you know, there's been a state of good news for the president. i think that does kind of contribute to this idea that the mojo is back. there was a very good economic number this morning. the economy growing faster than expected. this is -- this sounds more like the barack obama of old who has found this theme that we have a common purpose and mission in this country that we are in this together. as opposed to being a set of just -- >> and to move forward, ben white, you have to pay your fair share. >> yeah, i think the alternative

to that is the economic number this morning. 2.7 gdp growth was a little slower than expected. we're not in a booming economy. so this theme of college loans though is important to note. if you talk to the occupy wall street movement, one thing they're most worried about is this ballooning student loan debt, so if you're going to run a populous campaign, you have to figure out the issues. >> more student loan debt than credit card debt. >> exactly. he's running that campaign, this is the one issue you've got to nail and that's what he was trying to do today. >> fascinating the way he is turning the issue of spending on to colleges. he's saying you need to hold your costs down. he's not necessarily talking about increased federal aid. he's talking about taking away aid if you don't reduce your cost. don't know if you can do that, it's a big huge policy challenge, but interesting way for him to turn the education issue. >> really holding their feet to the fire and you menged the

polls. one of them, this is about electability. head to head match-ups are fascinating. obama comes out on top in every case. romney comes to chosest losing by six points, but santorum does even better than gingrich does in some of these polls. i mean, that can't hurt. >> that doesn't hurt. i mean, the we've always thought i think that newt gingrich was perhaps the easiest opponent for president obama to beat in a head to head and that romney was the most difficult. posed the biggest challenge to the president. i think that's still true. santorum somewhere in the middle. we'll have to see how santorum's good performance. >> let's talk about the debate. a lot of people think santorum won it, but clearly, the target there was newt gingrich. not only from mitt romney, but the other two guys. other three guys. the moderator. even the crowd. be careful what you wish for, newt gingrich. he wanted the crowd noise.

most seemed to go for romney last night. this is about the whole fannie, freddie thing. we getting up that piece of tape there? let's go. >> governor romney owns shares of both fannie mae and freddie mac. governor romney made a million dollars off selling some of that. so maybe governor romney in the spirit of openness should tell us how much he's made off of how many households that have been foreclosed by his investments. >> my investments are not made by me. for the last ten years, have been the blind trust. you checked your own investments? you also have investments through mutual funds that also invest in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> i don't know how much he pays his debate coach, but he needs to give him a big tip because he was ready. >> it was the best debate mitt romney has had. he had a strong answer on his own personal wealth. he said i'm a wealthy guy.

i've been successful. these are not usually bad things. we celebrate people who are successful. he took the fight to gingrich through the the debate and that was the prozac newt gingrich. and where was the feisty going after the moderator, after romney, on being a massachusetts moderate? he wasn't there. seems to have given up in florida. which is beyond me to understand cht. >> we've seen the newt gingrich who's up and down, but john, do you think it got to him after a while when you hear all these people supposedly who you hope would be for you who are just going after him? conservatives are going after him. and bob dole putting out a scathing assessment. >> if you look at the end of that clip you just played, gingrich gives that nod at the end like yeah, you just hit my really hard. i felt it. >> and you're right. all he said was that's true. >> and politico did something great. they asked a lot of people, what

do you think happen. they asked his florida chairman, fred thompson, even his campaign spokesman why newt didn't show up and the answer was i don't know. >> nobody knows. >> well, he is his own campaign strategist, first of all. and he marches to that different drum that only he hears playing some sort of lunar tune perhaps. one thing we should not forget is he was so beaten down in iowa by the barrage of romney and romney affiliated negative ads, we all kind of gave him up for dead in the desert and sure enough, he comes roaring back. so we have a gap now in the schedule. southern primaries on super tuesday. i'm not sure we've seen the last of the feisty newt gingrich. >> i think it's wrong to ever write off newt gingrich. >> there's a couple of things going on. one is let's not discount the fact that 400,000 people have

already voted before last night and he's still got a lot of money. who knows if he's going to get another infusion of cash. >> he's got to hope sheldon and his wife decide it's another $5 million. >> do you think they're sitting home going, that's it, i think we're done? >> you would expect that, but they have a close relationship. they have for a long time. santorum's interesting. a highly skilled debater. very smart. >> could he become the anti romney? >> he doesn't look the part of romney. not as pretty and doesn't have a stature of gingrich. it's going to be difficult for santorum to get through the media funnel. also the political class itself because people tend to say, okay, is it going to be a or b and the a or b are romney and gingrich. >> you brought up the moon, so to the moon, alice.

>> i do not want to be the country that having gotten to the moon first, turned around and said, it doesn't really matter, let the chinese dominate space, what do we care. i think that's a path of national decline. >> i spent 25 years in business, if i had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, i'd say you're fired. >> i don't think we should go to the moon. i think we should maybe send some politicians up there at times. >> ron paul gets the catskill comedian award. he had some very good lines. >> i think for the next debate, gingrich needs to moon walk out to his podium position. >> we're in florida. space coast. jobs. not as crazy sounding in florida. >> but mitt romney had the right answer. where ever you go, there's going to be something you can promise, but this is what got us into trouble. >> essentially, we don't have the money to do that. my first priority is not

establishing a moon colony to direct the sun's rays -- which is a newt gingrich idea. >> pandering has been known to work in the past. >> really quickly, i'm going to let you have the last word. we've got about a month off. we're not going to have a debate. what happens? >> i think it's going to be an interesting period, but i think increasingly, you're going to see the political establishment republican elected officials rally around mitt romney, try to shut this thing down. especially as we see that the economy's getting better. obama's doing better. >> what a great conversation. thank you, gentlemen. breaking news out of ohio we want to get to. this is out of cincinnati where officials say at least 11 people have been taken to hospitals with minor injuries after the partial collapse at a casino that's under construction right now. one of the developers says a 30 by 50 foot section of the floor gave way while concrete was being poured. streets around the casino have been shut down. we'll keep you posted. best organic baby food.

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let's talk more about the debate. you know you're in florida when the first question is over immigration. also about cuba and puerto rico, too. these are extremely personal issues. for almost a quarter of the florida population that's latino and a growing segment overall. joining me is tallahassee bureau chief for the miami herald and gary segora, professor of political science at stanford. romney went after gingrich for that spanish language radio ad that the gingrich camp has since pulled down. he had called romney antiimmigrant. let's look. >> is he still the most antiimmigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead, governor. >> that's simply inexcusable and actually, senator marco rubio came to my defense and said it was inexcusable. i'm not antiimmigrant. my father was born in mexico.

my wife's father was born in wales. the idea is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> we were talking about this earlier, did seem that romney came loaded for bare to that debate. gingrich seemed to be disengage ed a lot of the time. what's your take on that? >> well, it was clear romney was prepared to attack gingrich on this. it's been an interesting issue to watch. because while romney and gingrich as far as i can tell, they don't have a dramatically different approach to how they will handle this, gingrich has been less attacked by the democrats and democrats in florida see romney as their bigger threat. so this is one of those issues that divides the republican base in florida. it has for the last couple of years. the republican governor in florida ran on immigration

reform, was unable to get it through the legislature session last year and it continues to really divide the establishment here. >> and there was another tense exchange between gingrich and romney over in this case, kicking grandma out of the country. >> the original conversations about deportation was that grandmothers and grandfathers aren't going to be successfully deported. we as a nation are not going to walk into some family and by the way, they're going to end up in a church which will declare them a sanctuary. we're not going to grab a grandmother. >> i'm not going to find grandmothers and deport them. those are your words. and to use that rhetoric suggests to people that if you're not willing to keep people here that you're antiimmigrant. nothing could be further from the truth. >> professor, what do you think of the exchange and do you agree that there isn't a big difference between these two on

their core positions on immigration? >> i think it's difficult to identify a difference because both candidates are so tongue tied over the issue. on the one hand, they have to appeal to their base. they have to yell deport immigran immigrants. on the other hand, they recognize they need some latino support to be competitive, so they don't know what to say and in response, they say things like i'm going to deport all the people here illegally, but not grandmothers. that doesn't make any sense. >> and when it comes to cuba, he said -- to bring down the soviet union, persuading young cubes they want freedom for their generation. romney said he would use economic pressure to bring about freedom. cubes in florida, generally conservative. who won that one, do you think? >> you know, it's hard to say. when newt gingrich says things about using covert action, it sort of feels like pandering.

nobody really thinks we're going to go back and engage the cuban government as we did in the '60s and '70s. >> and a lot of analysis, we were talking earlier about santorum winning this debate. i thought he nailed the puerto rico question, talking about how he worked to help the island when he was in the senate. i wonder if some of those votes might go over to rick santorum? >> well, i think it's interesting. as i said before, the the dynamic in florida is that it's just not monolithic. the conservatives in florida, many of them in south florida especially are hispanic. 73% of the republicans in miami-dade alone are hispanic, so how they vote is very different from the conservatives in central florida and i think

that is where at least polls show that santorum could pick up effort there. some heft. >> thanks so much. appreciate your time today and newt gingrich's moon base idea made for great fodder on twitter. newt loves the specific date trick. fix borders by 2013. moon base by 2019. capture first space alien by 2021. whee wheeeeeeeeeeeee! wheeeeeeeeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! i'm always looking for new ways to help me manage my diabetes.

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i think we ought to send newt gingrich to the moon and mitt romney to the white house. what do you think? is that a pretty good line? >> john mccain, very proud of himself there. for that line. i don't think we've heard the last of the moon base jokes coming up. but that's going to do it for me.

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if i had a business executive say to me i want to spend a few hundred billion doll r lars to put a colony on the moon, i'd say you're fired. >> ripping into newt gingrich at their debate. his new poll numbers show him soring in the sunshine state. even his attacks on the media backfiring on him, so what can newt gingrich do to get his groove back? and we see who does have his groove back. president obama. getting a rock star welcome on the final stop of his battleground state tour. hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. it's great to have you with me this friday. live pictures off the top of the hour, from the his ppanic leadership conference in miami where newt gingrich will speak moments from now. he's hoping to get off the mat from a rgh