>> we are not going to beat barack obama w with some guy who has swiss bank accounts while he tries to think the rest of us are too stupid to put the dots together and understand what this is all about. >> this week on "inside washington," gingrich andd romney neneck and neck in florida. >> he should have been telling the american people that these entities were causing a housing bubbbble. >> the president's state ofof the union address. >> i will oppose any effort to return to the same policie that brought on this crisis in the firsplace. >> it is not fair and n not true r the president to attack republicans in congress as obstacles. >> the fight for the latino votes.

>> is he the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> the idea is repulse of. >> a starring role for warren buffett's secretary. >> she pays twice the rate i paid. i think that is outrageous. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> florida republican voters g to the polls next tuesday to decide whether they want itt romney or newt gingrich for the november election. rick sanrum and ron paul are also on the ballot, but they don't haveuch juice in this one. at the thursday nigh debate, romney and in which werere trying to out-freddy and fannie each other. >> may governor romney should tell us how much money he has

made of how many households or close on his investments.s. >> have youu checked your own investments? you also invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> romneycare makes it a point to remind us that he has never -- >> lived in -- romneycare has made it a point to remind us that he's never lived in washington d.c. still, he wants to hear pretty badly. gingrich says that by the end office second turned we will have a permanent base on the moon. >> we saw in the final days of ththe week at the momentum is moving and romney's performance was very strong in that debate. many republicans were frustrated that he was going to these anand he could not defe himself, he seemed apologetic about his money. all that was gone on thursday night. that was going to influence how the primary causes. > -- closes.

>> charles? >> i tnk the moon base was newt jumping the shark or it could have been his d dukakis in the tank moment, because it was kind of a caricature of him. romney used it cleverly toay that newt had been going out around to every state promising x, y , and z. the momentum has shifted, and what is remarkable is that with an audience where you thought it would have been digging which moment -- the ggrich moment, it was romney. it could have been the advance team. it was obviously a romney crowd from the beginning. whatever it was romney won the bate decisively. >> colby? >> no question. gingrich was way off his game on thursday, not only because the audience was not with him, but because he was h hard by

romney wita very good sizingers, and he seems un prepared. he seemed f flat and struggled at timeand his comebacks were weak. >> evan why does the replican establishment hate him? >> he alleges the truth. the republican establishment including my cololleague at mr. krauthammer are here, have come down hard on him. these debates -- on the money debate, they were slamming each other -- what they showed on thursday night is that r romney is the alpha male and newt is eak. thing -- newt is weak. nothing else matters. it is the end of newt. >> sheldon adelson -- jeanne, i

that was keeping newt gingrich going? >> absolutely. ththe campaign finance ls have really changed this presidential campaign. newt gingrich was broke in september, fourth place in iowa, fourth place in w hampshire. he walked into south carololina wi no money or momentum. then a casino mogul billiaire mr. adelson comes in with $5 million that he drdrops intoto gingrich's pac and then all of a sudden you have a campaiaign revive. then after south carolina, a delson's wife dropped another $5 million into the friendly political committee backing mr. gingrich. we have never seen this before. under any other cycle, which would and forced out of the field after iowa or certain -- gingrich would have be forced out of the bill after iowa or

certain after new hampshire. >> wit all due respect, i disagrgree entirely. the $5 million drops produce a controlled experiment. it was a drop early in south calina, but the reason there was the swing in south carolina was not the money for ads it was the incrible moments in the two bates, the juan williams and john king moment. that was the entire explanation -- wawit,it i am only halfway through -- [laughter] a controlled experiment has two parts. we have money in south carolina and he wins. the same amount drop in and this other state, and he will use it because he had terrible performance in the debate paid the money was irrelevant. it was the debate. >>h-huh.

any more? >> no, i say qed. you kn how they do that at t end of geometry -- >> mitt romney was unable hale important questions about his character, bain capital. the tax return issue heard him andheir -- hururt him there. unlike the iowa and unlike new hampshire and unlike florida -- south carolina is different demographically, and like iowa and unlike new hampshire and florida. >> what you need its a cab ride. >> charlrles, you protest too much. the $5 million did make a difference. one guy who had interest here could have that much influence. >> peter hart, in the latest "wall stre journal" poll, says

that the republican primary seemems to be hurting the republicans. >> no kidding. [laughter] these guys are calling each other child rapists and you think is not going to hurt them? [laughter] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

[ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a ba... ♪ ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ ♪ she was in paris but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so where to next? ♪ ♪

>> we cannot settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of american barely get by. we can restore an economy where everyone getets a fair shot. >> i think it was a great campaign speech obviously stoking the class warfare issue. this may be a little different take it that you are getting from others, but i was astounded by his praiseor iraq, since

iraq is unraveng. >> senor john mccain's ta on the ststate of the union speech. evan you agree wh that? >> i agree with all of it. it was a disheartening pathetic speech. the president needs a mandate for ruilding infrastructure and getting control the deficit. what does he talk about? raising taxes on millionaires, which i guess you have to do,o, but it is a tiny problem compared to o the others. it was moving at the end when he talked about the military, but overall, aathetic speech. >> charles, i read your column. >> evan is absolutely right from beginning to end, so since i took all the time before explaining the controlledd experiment, i rest my case here. >> colby. >> perspective on what happened on the state of the union -- all the great issues you talked about, evan, would go right over

the heads of the republinsns. they are not interested -- may i finish? rking with republicans on addressing the issues -- that is not the issue. what the esident is he spoke to his base, he laid out the issues that will be discussed i the cpaign. the issues happened to be the questions of income inequality on the republican side having somebody who made a $4 million in two years and never worked a day and his life in the last two years. the president representing people who are really trying to climb the ladder. >> you assssume it is going to be romney. >> well, if it is newt gingrich, the prayers have been answed, because barack obama is getting ready for another four years. >> jeanne? >> i think that speech was not really aimed at the base.

think he was talking past the congress to independent voters. it was arial run. i know that the white house was focus grouping it. the issues did a measurwellll with independent voters. sense, it was a disappointing state ofhe union speech because it wasn't a state of the union speech. >> it was a political speech. if he wins, he needs a mandate to the things you have to do that are hard to do, and he needs the voters to say we are on board. if you're only mandate is to stick it to rich people, all it invites its fractious class warfare -- may i suggest that something else is happening? you look at all the polls they show that there is a preference for democrats regaining control of congresess. there is a clear statement of

republicans saying theyould not vovote for some of their own representatives. why? the problems we have seen in the last year, that th president is articulating, really focus on the congress. we cannot address these issues with the republican intransigce we have. >> two minuteses is all ian tolerate, so here goes -- it was a terrible speech for the reasons evan articulate it. it was all small ball. kids having to stay in hool until age 18? not even a deral issue. thonly large item was class war and inequality in taxes, and what does he do? he revives a 10-year-old debate in the 4.5% spread but would not even -- that if you in posted over a decade would not eve

cover the stimulus. it is not addressed the issues, tax reform infrastructure. you have to ask yourself, why is he running again? you read the speech and you h have no idea why. >> as has become the pattern for a president they give the state ofhe union andnd and they go out and road tt the messages and remind peoplple -- he is visiting a a very obvious state, going to what will be the swing statesn the presidential campaign. again, this is s a rehearsal for the presidential campaign. he went out and tried to sell the messages to the independents. chles is right, it is small ball. it is ironic that they were so derisive of the clinton administtion for its small ball and has adopted the same kind of tomatoes and salad dressing

for your dinner party tonight...while you're at the grocery store. bon appetite. soon, almost every device will connect through the internet. it's going to require more speed, capacity, and constant improvement. america's broadband companies are investing billions in technology to make it all possible. i hate when he does that.

>> to say that in forcing u.s. law to prote our borders, to welcome peoe here legalally, to expand legal immigration is somehhow anti-immigrant is simply the kind of over the top rhetoric and that has characterized amerirican politics too long. i am glad that marco rubioall you out on it, and i think you should apologize for it and recognize that having given his opinions on issues it does not justify labeling people -- having differencnces of opinions on issues does notot justify itt labeling people with ghly charged epitts. [applause] >> newt gingrich s acced mitt romney of being anti- immigrant, and by the way nobo wants to offend senator marco rubio. according to one poll, romneyy is leading and gingrich byby 15 points among latinos.

how to republican n candidates get around the immigration issue? >> look, i think it is a fairly safe issue nowow. it wl be a diffificult issue in the general election when you have a different audience. when romney is trying to do - -- watch romney is trying to do is push a littlee bit to the right which is wnot where he wants to be because he will have a hard time scrambling in the general election going to the center. when you pull the rubio card, in florida, is over, you have won the argument. gingrich is the one tryingo be accommodating this whole riff of do you wantt to grab a grandmother and put her on a bus. romney had a smart, a short answer, saying that the problem is not 11 million grandmother s.

as a major problem about immigran education cos medical care schooling and jobs. ithe had a good answer yesterday. >> jeanne? >> i talked to white house fks who feeeel, as charles stated, that this hasas pushed romney further to thehe right that he had been where he began. the democrats feel, looking at this primary process, that that is one of the upside for them, that the white house still expects a a is going to run against romney and the hispanic vote igoing to be critical in the fall. this particular outcome is a very good for them. >> touchchy issue colby. >> the latino community is not a monolith. in florida, you are talking about a number of cuban americans, who have a particularly different approach to the question of immigration

than you find d in other parts of thcountry arizona texas because u are talkining about mexican-americans and other people from latin ameri. romneyey has said he would veto the dream act. the dream act may not mean a lot of people sitting up in the table here. it means a whole lot to the latino community. romney is going to have difficulty actually is veering away from that position in thee general election. >> in one debate romney talk about self-depoation. >> republicans are playing a short-term game by goingng after angry white males. long-term, it is with the hispanic vote, because there are going to be more of them. you c can pander all you want to everyone else, but if you alienate the hispanic vote, the long-term future of the party is not good. that is what democrats are

counting on. you n feel candidate onstage trying to tread that divide. >> let's be more specific. that sounds like a newt ad. it is not anti-immiation, it is anti-illegal immigration, a sincncere an impornt difference. what romney didid on the dream act in the last debate is he moved to left. gingrich pushed him, and he said he would approve the dream act for those who join the military but not those in college. >> romney is so much like nelson rockefeller in 1964. from the northeast, hehe t tried to move to th right to get the nomination, and he made himself into a pretzel. meanwhile, barry goldwater, mr. conservative had his way with nelson rockefeller went to san franciscsco, and won the nomination.

>> got crushed in the general election. who won n at theext cycle? richard nixon, wh was not a movementonservative. >> is part of romney's narrative against him, that he is a flip- flopper. of all the candidadates, it is hardest for romney to move. when he does that, the flilip-flop will stick to him. >> the documented that fought -- documented a flip-

>> it has been widely reported, and my net worth is withthin that number -- between $150 million and 200-some-odd million dollars. >> i don't blame it governor romney for paying that tax rate. i blame the u.u.s. congresess. warren >> buffett's secretary --

>> warren buffett's secretary pays higher tax rates than her boss. how is that going to play in peoria colby? >> not well for romn. he is going to be d dogged by this through the campaign. he is a poster boy ifor what people say is wrong with the system income inenequality, structure is not as progressive as it shouldld b burie. republicans will come up with a nominee that they will have a lot ofd work to do -- >> everybody aspires to be where mitt romneyy is. >> yes and i in other cycles this may not be as much of the liability, if it becomes one. i think in this environment, where you have in public opion polls a sense from the public that they don't think their kids

are going to make it, that's no a a good place. the other thing is that it is everything around the numbe that these guys play by totally different roles from the rest of us. >> populists are right about the game irigged in congress. pay on capital gains and not in, is outrageous, it needs to be changed. protecting it tax x breaks f for billionaires -- that part isot wrwrong. >> which is why republican proposals for tax reform along the lines of simpsonbowles are exactly what the country needs and exactly whahat obama has rejected second john kerry, the nominee for the democrats in 2004 released one year of taxess in 2003, and he paid lesthan 8 mitt romney -- than did mitt

romney. if it is a black mark on romney, it shohould have been on kerry. but each is a a different cycle -- it is a differentnt c cycle and romney in the debate could defend iwithout it being defense of wealth. >> you get the last word. see you next week. i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizononios tv internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ mama announcer ] and here's a special bonus:

sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a mont( guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/x/ fios. a network ahead.