>> t two mononths ago, i said don't pay attention to the polls. >> this week on "inside washington," the remarkable susurg of rick santorum. can he take romney in michigan? >> i remember going to the detroit auto show with my dad.d. >> general motors racks up the biggest profit in its history. >> he got hundreds of millions of d dollars from labor bosseses for his campaign. and so he is paying them binack in every way he knows how. >> miracle -- republican and democrats come togetether on the payroll tax cut. >> we would not allow democrats

to continue to play political games and raise taxes on workingng americans. >> china's future leader our lilives for a iendly visit. >> when i look at this panel, i don't see one single woman. >> the birth control debate continues on capitol hil wasn't that settled last week? captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.ororg-- >> as of this wee mitt romney has moreelegates but rick santorum has as many wins. if you believe the most recent polls, santorum is leading in michigigan. michigan! mitt romney was s born in michigan.. his father was govnor of michigan. howan romney be in trouble in michigan? >> unlike romney, we have a

track record of running as an authentic conservative. >> authentic conservative. at the cpac last weweekend, romney went to great pains -- 24 times -- tdefine himself as a conservative to he said he was a severely conservative governor ofof massachusetts. "the atlantic's" molly ball wrote that "romney made it sound as if it were a disease." nina what happens if grameen loses michig? >> it is it late for the entire republican primary structure to fall apart, bubut if he loses michigan, he is in such dire trouble i don't know whahe does, but there are not many alternatives. santorum is therhe cannoget on the ballot in most places. it is too late. the republican party has an interest in having him when. he doesn't, and they are stuck bebetwee santorum, paul, and

gingrich. >> if romneycare loses in michigan, then what? i if romney loses in michigan chles, t then what? >> well, he's not leaving the race. it will be a blow. people said that the primaries and causes last week, missouri colorado,nd minnota did not count because there were no delegates. it did down because it sh how we romney is -- it did count because it showed how weak romney is. showed that santorum w the alternative fothe remning alternative. it will continue, it will be a tight race like reagan and ford and hillary and obama. >> colby? >> it depes on how he loses i in michigan, if he loses at all if it is in erroll loss, it will not be a fatal blolow. if he -- if it is a narrow loss,

it will not be a fatal blow. if he gets blown out in michigan, he has a problem on his hands. the super pac going after the santorum with negative ads it is is going to hurt romney it over the long haul. >> mark, as i recall early in this season, romney seemed to be running a smt campaign.n. what hpened? >> i think what happened is that romney has ner really connected with the voters at an emotional level or given them a case as to what the vision mission, emotional connection as to why he wants to be presidentnt at how he is going to be a different kind of president. the others have come att different times, an emotional connection established an emotional conntion with voters. it is not umpornt. before they vote for you, a day after like you. -- they have to lilike you..

romney's campaign has always been a a concept. he has more money the most elecectable, the most likely to win. there is never a sense that he is going to be president and he will do these three things and that will mak america bter or satisfy my urges. >> early inhe camign the candidates were going after each other and romney was left untouched for a long period of time. he hadhat in vincible air to him. as soon as the field narrowed, they can concentrate on mitt romney and his record, or lack thereof. >> it is sort of a case of whack a mole. mr. shields will remind m me, because i cacannotemember what happened in the muskie campaign. he was this preordained, suppose to be that his candidate, and he got out eaourly. >> well, he cried in new

hampshire, and athe time and dididdn't cry. t today -- at the time, man that didn't try it today they crcry too much, if you ask me. >> alan alda for president. >> they have a lot to cry about. >> be that as it may -- >> rick santorum has emerged as an interesting, appealing figure. a couple things about santorumum that have gone unnoticed. he served in the house of representatives for two terms served in t senate fo two terms. during that time in the house, there were 229 house members who served with him, 89 republican senators who served with him. how many of them haveeen fit to say "this is a man i would like to o have as president cloaks''? zi -- i would like to have as

president"? zilcvhh, nada. endorsrsements mean something to the person endorsing and being endorsed. they mean anything to voters, but the reveals something to voters -- they don't mean anything to voters butut they reveal something about the person. >> that is not going to hurt him. what hts them is that he wts to talk about contraception. it is a settled issue but he goes on and on about how it hurtomen causeses disillusionment in society. he ought to say "as a catholic, i believe in the doctrine of the church i believe they're teaching on thisis, but i am not running toe the pope or bishop, , i am running to the president of the united states," had to shut up about

those issues, which are going to destroy him in the general election. >> i never thought i would say this -- it is deeper than that charles. thisis is a man without perceptible joy. there is no o choice about rick santorum. therere iso optimism no list of a driving dream. >> i don't agree with you. >> i saw him at the detroit ecomic forum this week. it was a different rick santorum. it was not the rick santorum of the social issues who stayed on conaceptives. during the economic speech, he talked about the economy, and it was a well-balanced speech. a speech does not make a candidate or win a nomination, but it was a different rick santorum on display. >> he actualally gives a a good speech, a mewhat optimistic speech about america. but we in the media have not

really examine thecarefully yet. that is what is about to happe to h. ♪ ♪ [ 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's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

>> last fall i said the only reason we are talking about a payrololl tax break foror extension of unemployment benefits is because the present economic licies have failed. i still believe th to be the se today. the agreement s been reached to sp the tax hike on middle- cls americans is a fair agreement anand one that i support. >> what turned him around, mark? [laughter] the 10% approval rating or what? >> man with the toughest job in wawashington. let's be honest about it. every day john boehner has toto put together a new coalition of

republicans. heid it. he understood that itas nothing but a killer for his part if this is out there, and it got down to the last minute again. this was done about two weeks before it was going to expire, which is miraculous by washington standards. it was something that had to be resolved and he did. >> i don't think it was a ha sell at all. republicans realized they could not had a repeat of last year. the polls showed i it. >> not if you like your job. >> approval rating for congress is 12%. >> in the latest gallup it is 10%. >> tell that to the republican caucus. it is not easy. >> it was a raucous caucus. >> it was not the power off

boehner's speech. >> rockets cauaucu -- raucous caucus sounds like a rock band charles. >> everybody here is so delighted that we haven about it bipartisan settlement, over what? $16 trillion in debt, and we added $100 billion in payrololl tax cut that this tememporaryry and will have no effect. you know how we are payg for sosome of the goodies in that? we are auctioning off the spectrum. you want to auction off the spectrum y way. however, the idea that you are going to do that with a priceless commodity that the government is sellining it off seing crown jewels to buy crack. the payroll taxut has no effect -- all on a minute -- it is going to make people smile for eight orine months, $100

billn. and we are selling off to do that. that is the ststate of our politics today. >> everybody agrees thatat the best thing to do ecomically that does actually have an effect on the economy is to keep going on the unemployment stuff and ty cut back on that it is the they can do what charles calls cracked. is still a politically untenable position for republicans to be opposed to it. >> general motors had a great year last year, but mitt romney in 2008 wrote an op-ed in "the new york times" called "let detroit go bankrupt." he had a follow up in "the detroioit news" this ek. >> santorum says the same thing. >> who art they talking to? it is a primary, but who a theyalking to?

>> timing is everything. six by $7 billion profit general motors -- $6.7 7 billion profit, general motors. at t brink off bankruptcy, whahat was the intervening events? the bailout by taxpayers o of the united states. who opposed it? the native son of michigan, on the eve of the micgan primary. he says obama sold outo the union bosses. how does that help him in this primary? >> it doesn't. >> wl, look, i supported the bailout, i thought it was a good idea i thought it should be done to the bush administration said it up. it was the right thing, and i supported the tarp as well. the romney argument is a separate argument and it is complicated and he is losingn it because it is template -- a complex argument. he argued that it should go to a preprogrmed bankruptcy and the

government took hold in a way that was quite lawleless. the bondholders got screwed and the union's benefit. what gate is it distorted the settlements of that you did not get the radical changes that would have madee it althy. but that is a complicated argument at it is not going to work and it will hurt him a lot in michihigan. >> it is not is that the unions haven't given back a lot. >> he has recomnded a managed bankruptcy is what he called it. he cannot have it b both ways, although he always tries to have it both ways. he was opposed to that bailout. everybody knows he was opposed to that bailout. the success is not his, it is of e administration that supported it. >> one thing in michigan that every voter d citizen knows -- tm wentgm went to third shift.

>> we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to go the world economic system. >> rules? what rules? the vice president -- he would be the next president if he doesesn't score up -- xi jinping was in town this week. what rules colby? >> there are rules. the thing that underlines this relatiship is a trait. there is a trade deficit the united states exports something on the order of the $30 billion to china every year. we talk about general motors. you go to china -- i was there a couple of years ago -- buick is big in china. general motors;' profitability

is in large part because of that market in china. the united state has a lot going on wi its relationship with china at aand although foreign policy and military policy is with our struggles, but that trade relationship is underpinnining it between his country. >> what could be more american than an "inside washington" coffee cup made in china? couldn't they make peace and in maryland or toledo or somewhere? >> they could and should trade . >> you would pay more. >>e e more th consumers we are citizens -- i hope. this conversation takes place evertime there was a chinese leader with an american leader. talk about currency, we talk about intellectual property.

this time they have led us down in china at in the un, where it they with russia vetoed the resolution on its syria at the u.n. security counl. i just wonder when theare going to take their place as a real leader of the planet. >> never. their conception up their place is to promote china, a civilization a lot older than ours. they think they or older, wiser, more civilized, and they are going to outlast us. e concepon of the will is not to follow the american lead, to eecect it is naive. why should anybody be surprised that china would act on its interests vis-a-vis syria and iran, or russia would act onon its interests? it is the equivalent of germany in the 1900's and the european nations that did not handle the rise of industrialization in germany. >> nina?

>> this is, i have to admit, not my field of enormous expertise. across the brd obama has gotten pretty good marks for his handling of this relationship with china. personally, my fixation is about oiquestion of intellectual property, because if they copy everything you do and then have a population that can produce its en masse very fast and put your compies at a disadvantage, you are ouout of busineness. >> there is a whole list -- military intelligence issues - we don't have time to get into it.

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's berage companies are delivering. >> what i want to know is where are the e women? whwhen i look at this panelel, i don't see one single woman representing the tens ofof millions of women across the country who want and need a

current insuranc coverage for basic preventive health care rvices. >> we are here looking at government bounds, not is it a good idea or does it safafe and cost money but how does it impact religus organations and people of conscience and say? >> congresswoman carolyn maloney, congressman darrell issa when we last met, we announce that the white house was announcing a plan to accommodate religious employers on the birth control issue. this satisfyfy some but not all the president's critics on the issue. the hearing this week was a matter of great upset to carolyn maloney eleanor holmes nortoton. >> it is not a new thing to have a slanted congresonal hearing. however, it was not a stroke of genius to have all men talking about contraception that involves princncipally w women. they canet it over the counter

any time they want. >> you had a column about this on friday, charles. it is a compromise, so to speak. >> it is not a compromise, it is ofake, an accounting trick.. any tholic hospital, like catholic charities are caolic schools, is required by law to engage an insurer who w by law be required to provide contraceptes. i have no problem with contraceptives. it is not about access to contraceptives. it is can the state compel a religious organization to do somethiing, to engage an injur surer who is required by law to provide things that are against ththe doctrine of that church? nothing has changed in a moral sense. however, it was a political stroke. obama got away with it.

before he had been opposed by rick warren, a pastor who supported him, he had been opposed by tim kaine, a former dnc chairman. now it is the opposition who is split, so it succeeded, but it was an absolute fraud. >> there are people on both side othe controversy who want to go to war. the fact that they did win back the catholic health association was not ingnificant. but as long as this debate is over religio freedom, obama was losing. as long as it is ovover contraception, which it became the house hearings, the other side wins because it is and 95-5 issue on the issue of contraception. religious freedom is different. >> the firstmendment guarantees freedom of religion. doesn't it also guarantee freedodom from religion? >> yes, and this is where the church has to tread carefully. it is one thing to talk about

the government intruding upon religion. it is another thing aether to start saying that ntraception is bad, and anything that supports contraception we are against. and they will lose if they tried to make that are commit -- thank you. >> see you next week.