ericson studies the amount and impact of plastic debris in the ocean. successfully fishing the surface, we wondered what might be below. out here, the water looks very clear, but you never know what's lying underneath. the bags we found do more than just litter the ocean floor. this is the marine mammal center. its staff and volunteers rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured animals. >> he's not very responsive. he'll get an initial assessment. >> reporter: dr. bill van bond is director of veterinary science. >> whales, sea lions, dolphins, in my personal experience, i've seen all three of those animals with bags in them. >> reporter: if a marine mammal swallows a plastic bag can it kill the animal? >> it could. it could. but i think the bigger concern is the unseen effects of these materials. >> as those plastic bags migrate out the deep ocean, they fragment very quickly. one plastic bag can turn into 10,000 particles the size of fish food. >> reporter: ericson has traveled to remote locations. where rotating ocean currents known as gyres have trapped

eric ericson, you are in touch with the conservative community.he ground swell for the trump candidacy? >> now that he its talking foreign policy, it might grow. i'm impressed. the conservatives are real befuddled. there are a lot that want to woo some into the race. you are going to see a lot of people line up behind him. sarah palin and mitt romney have it easy. they can raise money with the snap of a finger. they can sit it out. donald trump, we can put him in that policy too. >> the only foreign policy he knows is the miss universe pageant. thank god i wore my cowboy boots today. forget the idea of donald trump run running. he is not. the idea of him being in the white house, if you thought bill clinton had a good time, let donald trump going to the white house. >> eric, i want to get to the mike pence conversation in a minute. this is a very, very serious conversation. >> roland just mentioned michele bachmann. she is making some trips to the situation. she hasn't ruled it in or ruled it out. part is to get media attention. eric ericson, real

what the president tonight was really trying to appeal -- not to eric ericson, you know. he's trie aetrying to appeal to independent voters and trying to come across as the reasonable leader. and don't forget, his leadership numbers have suffered lately, particularly after the debt ceiling. and one way he can do that is to challenge republicans, lay down a very clear plan and say, you should pass it, you should pass it, this makes a lot of sense to me. and hope that it makes a lot of sense to the independent voters out there who will then put pressure aon republicans in congress. the missing part here, which i want to see, is when the president is going to talk on september 19 about how he intends to pay for it and what he's going to say to that joint committee and how he's going to pay for this $450 billion or whatever it turns out to be. that's something the american people need to hear also. but for tonight he was very concise, very clear, told them he's going to send up legislation, which is something we also haven't seen from this president, and say, here's what i wa

eric ericson with the conservative red state doum. gloria borger. david, i want to go to you first. the american people are watching something that is messy. if you are a conservative republican, you probably like much of what happened. if you are a democratic, you are waiting. and if you are in the middle, you are saying, why all the posturing first? >> well, i think the house beginning to unlock the stalemate that was there and allows the senate to act and the boehner bill will go down and the reid bill will fail. i think the making of a compromise are clearly there. can they find a compromise that will actually pass the house? they have one that the democrats like in the senate, pelosi can wound up a lot of democrats. and speaker boehner, will the compromise satisfy the republicans? it's not clear, given how far they push it to the right. it's not clear if they can do it. >> and gloria borger, any vote you come to the floor, twuyou w to keep a majority of your guys. and it does not guarantee passage of the balanced budget amendment before you inc

. >> eric ericson, what are your thoughts? >> really?e're going to go there with a news channel that they're racists? we can't have an honest conversation about racism in this country because of things like this. everyone wants to hurl the racism charge because they don't agree on policy. and we try to take policy disagreements and turn them into racial issues when they're not. i think it's time to grow up, honestly, i can't believe an week after the andrew breitbart story broke, we're still talking about shirley sherrod instead of the economy. >> i think it's a valid point, the problem is -- >> wait, do you see -- professor, are you saying there's some sort of difference in racism on the left versus racism on the right? >> absolutely not. i'm saying that racism is racism period, it's deeply embedded in the structure of the american society. and people on the left and right have been racist and have promoted and promulgated racist ideas, he can't be that naive to say it's more than policy disagreement. policies are rooted in racism. don'

former congressman tom davis, former secretary of sta state, stan blackwell and austin, texas, eric ericson. i want to start with this right off the bat. we may drop in if we get a shot of christine o'donnell and get a listen to her. look at this right here, this is the cover of "time" magazine which i think covers pretty good the tensions going on. tea party time, how conservative rebels are rattling the republican establishment. tom davis what is there to be worried about? >> plenty. you have a political establishment in this country in both parties that hasn't delivered any good news to americans in ten years. they elected obama, firing them and turning on anybody who has been in authority and gummed up the works. >> she has come on the national scene from nowhere in part by copying a tea party message, having a tea party message on the one hand gets people excited, let's listen to her campaigning, talking about all the things wrong with washington. >> i'm optimistic that we can begin the effort to turn the tide in our country, and get our country back on track, but we can't do it by spe

eric ericson, the editor and chief of a conservative blog is joining us to talk about this. here in washington, roland martin. the language of this one is hard. it is something james did say. it is a comparison he made during the campaign when both hillary clinton and barack obama, then senator clinton and senator obama were candidates of president. does it make a difference, john -- roland, you go first. you are right here with me. does it make a difference. he is the president of the united states and she is the secretary of state. to say if hillary clinton gave up one of her and gave it to obama, he would have two. >> there is a difference. i believe you have to have respect for the office of president. i understand what james said. he explained us the context. so what he did was, he mixed a present-day discussion as relates to what the president should do with a joke that he told during the campaign. so, frankly, it is not like he was repeating -- it is not like he was telling a story from 2008 and linking the two. it is disrespectful to the president of the united state

eric ericson and susan and john. congresswoman, to you first, is she running or is she just trying to help her image? >> well, who really knows what goes on in the mind of governor palin? if she did s not running, she's really putting together a brilliant strategy for reminding everyone of a very critical time that she is extremely relevant. you showed pictures of people standing out in the heat and that she's the one person that connects. i would say i don't think she's running but tomorrow she may prove me wrong. what she is doing is running to be one of the most influential republicans in these united states and what that means is whoever is the republican nominee or all of those people running for the nomination will be wanting her attention and her endorsement. >> so john, i'm surrounded by families here. some of them have been here for eight or nine hours. you know this state well. you advised rick santorum who is exploring a republican presidential candidacy and is most likely to run. what is the palin factor?

ericson also a big supporter of marco rubio. the primary, marco rubio will be the big winner.he big question is who will win the democratic primary. jeff greene, a billionaire, kendrick meek, a congressman from in the miami area. this is the established democratic primary candidate. he has the support. barack obama, bill clinton recorded a turnout for him. jeff greene, has a personal fortune, he spent billions in the race. ma marco rubio voted today. mr. greene, let's hear from the candidates. >> for people happy with the direction washington is taking. you have the two candidates on the ballot. charlie crist. >> you can't trust charlie crist. he's a conservative. he abandoned his own party not to become an independent but because he couldn't win. i hung in against $26 million and against a guy that was on television. geico, more than burger kings and mcdonald's put together. >> retire them and give a chance to someone new, an outsider like me, i'm jeff grooereene the outr and will fight for the people of florida. >> governor crist wasn't there. he decided to run nonparty affi

eric ericson, what are your headlines going to be on red state.com? >> well, i think this may be the first debate where romney didn't come out the clear winner. rick perry came out strong. everyone held themselves to the end and perry needed to do well. i think he did well. i don't think the social security exchange helps romney at all. i think he's foolish to continue it. he may want to go after perry on hpv or i am dprags. i think the majority believe with perry. for the life of me, i can't understand why he would go with this. >>> governor roland, your take. >> if you're ayala continue owe voter, the last thing you want to hear is some of the things you heard. colorado, new mexico, arizona will be -- the gop did themselves no favor in trying to curry with latino. so much emphasis, talking about social security, talking about a balanced budget, most of the -- >> it came up in abolished in the department of education. >> right. that's the only moment it came up. frankly, if you're a parent trying to get your kid educated. they didn't speak to the cri

eric ericson, what are your head leans going to be? >> well, i think this may be the first debate where mitt romney didn't come out the clear winner, rick perry came in strong, and really i think everyone held themselves to the end, and perry needed to do well. i think he did well. i don't think the social security exchange helps mitt romney at all at a republican primary. he's foolish to continue, and he may want to go after perry on immigration or hpv. i think the majority of republican voters agree with perry. for the life of me, i can't understand why romney would go with this. bachman was going to make this a key point and back down from this. >> if you're a latino voter, the last thing you wanted to hear was some of the stuff you heard tonight. colorado, arizona, new mexico will be critical states when it comes to november 2012. the gop did themselves no favors tonight with latino voters. education did not come up in this debate at all. so much emphasis, you talk about social security, talking about a balanced budget. those -- >>

and what -- the president tonight was really trying to appeal not to erik menend menendez -- eric ericsonhe's trying to come across as reasonable leader. his numbers have suffered particularly after the debt ceiling and the one way to do that is challenge republicans, lay down a very clear plan and say you should pass it, you should pass it. this makes a lot of sense to me and hope that it makes a lot of sense to the independent voters out there who will then put pressure on republicans in congress. the missing part here, which i want to see, is when the president is going to talk on september 19 about how he intends to pay for it, and what he's going to say to that joint committee and how he's going to pay for this $450 billion or whatever -- whatever it turns out to be. that's something the american people need to hear also, but for tonight, he was very concise, very clear. told them he's going to send up legislation, which is something we also haven't seen from this president and say here's what i want. now you go do it. so game on. >> paul, what did you think of the speech? do you thi

it was rod ericson calling on the phone about 9:45. and he asked me if would take the job as interim football coach. i accepted. i proceeded to make sure i got ahold of the team captains and other people so that we could get started immediately on the process. >> ron, your brother told me earlier today that you face a huge challenge. he said you are really sad about the whole -- the way this unfolded. now you face a toughest three-game stretch of the season. it is almost unparallel. >> first off, i -- i did talk to may brother later last night and i -- i first off i grieve for the victims. i grieve for the families. deeply saddened by that. it is with great emotion that i say that. and, you know, the football part, we will get working on that right youaway. i think you should know where our team is towards the whole issue. towards those children and towards their families and -- our thoughts and prayers are with them. >> jeff? >> i called coach paterno last night around 11:00. i think that's personal in nature. >> corey? >> tom, will m

we've lost eric ericson. should we take a break and come back? jason. we'll be back. being hands on is key! i make sure every plate looks just right. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. start with soup, salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits followed by your choice of one of 7 entrees. like new coconut and pineapple shrimp or shrimp and scallops alfredo. then finish with something sweet. all four courses just $14.99. [ reza ] it's so much food for such a good value. i'm reza, culinary manager. and i sea food differently. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. >>> okay. we're in the midst of political buzz, rapid-fire look at the best politic

lauren ericson is michelle parker's sister, and the attorney.u weren't here because i wish this story ended and ended well, but you are. lauren, the new video released of your sister coming through the fast food, it helps police with the timeline of what happened to her and where she was. have they learned anything from this video? >> the video itself, it just shows her going through the drive through, getting lunch that day. if anything, it just shows it was normal day. she was going to grab lunch, actually on her way out to a beauty supply store to pick up color for our salon. as to anything significant to the timeline itself, it doesn't show too much. >> my understanding, tell me if i am wrong, there was a decal on the back of her car, which apparently was not there when they actually got the car. is there any, in your view, significance of that or what did it say? what's your belief and what you hearing from the police? >> that's correct, when the vehicle was found the next friday, the stickers were off of it. in the video, when she went thr

they are in the process of adopting ericson and thurlene. an orphanage east of port-au-prince. the couple got word that the children are safe, but the situation at the orphanage is growing worse. >> they are running out of water and food very, very quickly. we were told yesterday that they have less than a week's worth of supplies. so, we are starting to become truly concerned for their well-being and, for their survival. >> adoptions in haiti can take up to three years an unlike other countries children are matched with the parents early on, so that the couple has visited their children several times, and they took these home visits. >> give me, papa. >> we have known ericson for a very, very long time, and he is growing up in an institution. he is probably scared right now, and we just are completely powerless to do anything. >> reporter: their biggest fear is having to start over since we are told that the orphanage's administrative office in port-au-prince has been destroyed along with years' worth of adoption paperwork. they are not alo

eric ericson is editor of the popular blog redstate.com.you. >> what do you hope to achieve by this? >> well, beginning again the conversation son what the principles of the constitution are and why the country was founded, reminding people that under the constitution, congress only has 17 powers. it is actually supposed to be very limited in a day and age when we think that congress can do whatever it wants. >> is this the equivalent of the contract with america was back in the '90s? >> not necessarily in that the contract with america had specific items of legislation that it wanted to be passed. i was actually delighted that the conservative movement released a statement that did not have contract or reagan in it. >> i read the whole statement, and maybe you can flesh out what you mean. you endorse this. among other things it says in recent decades america's principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. give me an example. you don't spell out details, but what do you mean by that? >> wel

eric ericson is here, he's a cnn contributor.ticket, does that greatly influence what has traditionally been a blue state of wisconsin, turning it red? >> it could. paul ryan won his congressional district as did barack obama. will it really make a difference in wisconsin? i'm not sure it makes a huge difference. i don't know that vice presidents make a big difference. >> even though people say this might be the most important decision that a presidential candidate makes is the picking of a running mate? >> it goes towards more is he ready and competent. it used to be presidents picked up vice presidents to swing states, but now it goes more towards policy ideals. he wants to woo states. when you dig into the polling, they are concerned about the national debt. a lot of people don't like paul ryan's plan, but he's willing to admit as he said this morning that both democrats and republicans have been to blame. when you have a vice presidential bid saying it was us as well, that sends a good message. >> how does this pick round out

i will talk to james carville and eric ericson, and can there be room for compromise on health care?e will speak with the president's senior adviser david axelrod, and plenty of hand shakes and hugs and jeanne moos was watching today, and she finds it all "most unusual." i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he's in copenhagen. oh, well, that's nice. but you can still see him! you just said he was in... copenhagen. come on! that's pretty far. doc, look who's in town. ellen! copenhagen? cool, right? vacation. but still seeing patients. oh. [ whispering ] workaholic. i heard that. she said it. i... [ female announcer ] the new office. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco. host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: is ed "too tall" jones too tall? host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: does a ten-pound bag of flour make a really big biscuit? >>> let's get back to the top story. historic day here in washington, d.c., democrats and republicans came out from beh

i was reading eric ericson's blog. he said the reason that donald trump has that percentage is because republicans aren't jazzed about the entire field. >> there is something to be said about that. we really haven't seen the field gel together. tim pawlenty and newt gingrich are the two well-known names that have officially taken steps to run for president. the other ones haven't done so. republicans are looking for somebody to emerge from the field. i think that we will start to see that happen over the next month or so. donald trump says he will make a decision about whether to run for president, right before june. he has the celebrity prentice on nbc and he says he can't run for president. eric ericson, a c in. n contributor, a very-well-known voice, he is absolutely right. nobody is excited. still, there is a long way until the first contest in iowa in february of 2012. >> point well taken. mark preston, many thanks. a program note. later today in the "newsroom," donald tru donald trump, will he or won't he? he ans

eric ericson, he's not wrong, is he? >> i'm still hung up on jan brewer. cringe every time i see that poor woman. you can flub a debate and still win if your state is red or blue enough. it pains me to have to watch that clip. >> what do you think of the man up line. did it work for them? she was talking about social security. this is an absolutely critical issue. unfortunately i would say both president obama, the beltway democrats and republicans are making social security the target when, in fact, what is soaking up the most money that is not made up for in any other way and war. as for mcmillen. that would have never happened if the debates were held in other states the way they were held in new york. an open debate. it was like seven candidates all expressing their views. it got a tremendous amount of attention. and it shows the power of third parties. they can introduce important issues into races. he's talking about rent and foreclosure. these affect people across the country. >> what was your most memorable debate moment of the year? >> well, i lov

lauren ericson is michelle parker's sister, and the attorney. wish you weren't here because i wish this story ended and ended well, but you are. lauren, the new video released of your sister coming through the fast food, it helps police with the timeline of what happened to her and where she was. have they learned anything from this video? >> the video itself, it just shows her going through the drive through, getting lunch. it just shows it was a normal day. she was on the way to a beauty simply store that day to pick up color for her salon, but as far as anything significant, it doesn't really show too much. >> let me ask you, my understanding is and tell me if i'm wrong, there was a decal on the back of her car, which apparently was not there when they actually got the car. is there any, in your view, significance of that? or what did it say? what's your belief and what are you hearing from police? >> that's correct that when the vehicle was found the next day, that friday, the were off of it. in the video, when she went through the kfc, the

first working for swedish telecom's firms ericson.tions of any military influence over the company and says state-owned firms only have a 16% stake in the publicly traded company. >> majority of board of directors are independent board of directors. so the influx from the -- the state-owned companies in china has no difference, no privilege than any other investors in a company. >> reporter: some of zte's u.s. staff admit, they, too have criticism for working for the u.s. firm. >> going to the other side. you're helping china penetrate the u.s. and i say if you're shopping at walmart you're spend your dollars there. i think of myself as getting some those dollars back into american hands because my paycheck comes from china employs 70,000 people around the world and as the u.s. struggles with unemployment the firm says it's planning to double its north america workforce. >> i've been here since may and it's very exciting. the previous company i worked for, had been downsizing for eight or nine years and even though the u.s. is in rece

primaries, people have to be hard when it comes to the extreme elements of both parties. >> eric ericson, zero sum politics seems to be the order of the day. >> right. >> and with the battle for congress being so heated in 2010 and everybody is after control and they are always after control, but this time around in a way that we have rarely seen before. do you expect that we are going to become a country where all people do is win at the cost of somebody else losing and therefore we don't get anything done? >> well, that is what we already do now to the degree. this race down in florida, this governor's race on the republican side is an example of it. i predict if rick scott wins, you won't see the establishment running to embrace him, and in fact, they have canceled the unity breakfast down there. and same thing with hayworth and mccain and a lot of conservatives and they don't like mccain but they don't like hayworth either. i am hoping that injuries get 90% of the polls tonight. it is a zero-sum gain tonight, but it is because for a lot of reasons on a lot of issues we have taken up

matt morgan and lauren ericson. >> thanks. >> thank you. >>> she's had a tunnel bat well drug addictionpregnant with twins and on top of that country singer mindy mccready is in violation of a court order to return her son to his grandparents. court deadline to give 5-year-old zander back came and went yesterday. a representative for mccready says the child has been with his mother the last month and she's fearful about his safety. we invited mccready to join us again tonight but she declined. the child's father, billy mcknight is here. billy, people sore curious about the story. when is the last time you talked to mindy and to zander and what did she say? >> i talked to zander about 7:30 last night and mindy later on about 9:00 last night. she sounded upset with the situation, she thinks she has a case against florida and that she was going to stay hidden, they'd have to find her. >> you said once you decided to talk to the press she decided, mindy didn't want to talk to you anymore? >> her phone has been off since last night so i haven't been able to talk to zander today. >> what's yo

or as eric ericson has been saying, there could be a brokered convention.blicans get out of this process and find that they don't have a candidate who is strong enough to face the president this fall, they may try to manipulate it in their favor. >> i thought there was talk that it was going to be jeb supporting mitt romney. >> all talk. horse hockey. >> horse feathers. thank you, goldie taylor. >>> next dan rathers will join me live. it's great to talk to him. he has a lot to say about politics and the media after the break. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street-legal. ♪ is it safe? oh, yeah. it's a volkswagen. [ male announcer ] the security of a j

. >> eric ericson, thank you very much. >>> liberals facing buyer's remorse? let us know what you think. follow me on twitter @andersoncooper. >>> later, the wall street roller coaster drum bells back up the hill again. is your money along for the ride? ali velshi is joining me. >> the syrian dictatorship may have pulled forces out of hama but the military killing machine rolls on. in bloodshed and new victims. that and more when "360" continues. of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. >>> well, there is still a chance president obama would look his age but with the market mess all taking their toll not just on the president but on his supporters chls take a look at the headline, why the center left is fed

let's bring in the panel david gergen, paul begala, eric ericson and john ridley and kate zurnukey, she is the author of "boiling mad." i got it right this time. >> you did. >> eric, this is a stunning night in new york with paladino. >> it is. democrats tried to pick off some of the democratic incumbents, arlen specter's switch if you can count that. they weren't successful outside of pennsylvania the republicans the grassroots, i don't think the republicans get it. i remember a cnn poll that showed republican voters disliked the republicans in washington more than independents liked the republicans in washington. and they're in total denial about that. this isn't going to do anything for them. i'm getting lots of e-mails saying republican leadership in the senate are openly blaming jim demint for all of their problems. they should be blaming themselves. >> jim demint. why jim demint? >> he endorsed o'donnell, he endorsed lamontagne. all of demint's candidates win. which is why o'donnell the nrsc is not going to help her. >> let's go to o'donnell headquarters where jessica yellin has t

. >> strange night when both paul begala and erick ericson both smiling. >> that's the d.c.ion is the one we'll talk about least but it may have the most far-reaching consequences. interestingly, if fenty lost the black vote he was trying to save the schools and it is going to be something to watch in the future. >> i think paul is right the democrats got a big victory tonight, but three weeks ago, even tea party activists were counting out christine o'donnell. i don't think anyone can count out the tea party. >> appreciate our panelists staying up the extra hour with us. our coverage continues, a lot more ahead. we've been talking about education. >>> imagine if your child's future was decided by a lottery. luck of the draw. determining if your child gets into a good school or one that doesn't have the resources. it happens all the time. is it right? perry's principles ahead. [ male announcer ] one look can turn the everyday into romantic. ♪ an accidental touch can turn ordinary into something more. moments can change anytime -- just like that. and when they do men with ere

with us tonight is our cnn contributors roland martin, eric ericson and here with me is cnn senior correspondent joe johns. joe, i'll go to you first. we have spent all day reporting this story. is this farmer legitimate? did this incident happen 24 years ago? talking to everybody, your first impression? >> my first impression is that phrase "context is everything" is really important. one of the contexts we haven't explored is the context in which the department of agriculture decided to get rid of this woman. when you look at agriculture, they have a history, they are notorious over decades for having discrimination lawsuits from women farmers, black farmers, hispanic farmers. it goes on and on. this is the context in which she makes these statements as a political appointee, and she serves at the pleasure of the president. >> we'll continue to look at that. that is how the agriculture department and white house reacted. roland, your first thought? >> it's sort of hard for brightbart to continue to deny photos, statements, placards, things along those lines as it relates to the tea party to co

with us still is amy good man and erick ericson. jessica yellin. you've been aligned with this movement saying that it brings fresh air. when things are new, people are new to the process, mistakes are made. has he underestimated the cause? >> the word that kids are using today, they need to refudiate him apparently. it's a shame. i've said dumb things, everybody does. he's really gotten his back up and bunchered down. the tea party movement is not a bunch of racists. but what he did and what he said is that he doesn't get it is appalling to me. maybe it's because i'm from the south and he's from the north but you don't use language like that in the south. you shouldn't across the nation. it's offensive. and shame on the tea party express for not distancing themselves to them. because he's maligned an entire movement of goodwill people. >> amy, is this a fight, now an internal feud that liberals just look at with glee or is there some good of this, some conversation or dialogue? >> i don't think anyone looks at racist comments with glee. because wh

james carville, eric ericson, many thanks. >>> ahead on "360," the year in politics, from the electionthe bitter battle over health care to the scandals that crushed more than one presidential dream. >>> plus, kathy griffin is here in the studio to share her take on the top stories of 2009 and hopefully a tidbit or two about her plans for tomorrow's big night in times square with anderson. hey, ask our doctor about garlique, okay? garlique's clinically proven ingredient maintains healthy cholesterol naturally. eat right. exercise. garlique. >> what did i do? what did you do to him? >> watch him, little girl. >> he didn't do this. >> what did we do? >> he tells me nothing because he's scared of you. >> that is a scene from the "twilight saga, new moon," the fourth top grossing movie of 2009. those vampire kids getting plenty of attention this year. we are counting down, in fact, to number one. can you guess the next three? put your thinking caps on. we're also going to take a look back at the top political homes from the historic to the scandalous. candy crowley with the raw politics. >

. >> we're back with james carville and eric ericson. was that a joke, james?is. >> the left are making fools of themselves. of course it's a joke. and she says enough stupid things and does enough stupid things, you know, if we start taking jokes out of context we'll end up with sanitized, boring -- mitt romney will run for everything in the whole world. oh, wow. look at this. there's michele making a fool of herself again. what is this? i called some friends who aren't inclined to agree with michele bachmann and they said the same -- the same feeling i had. we have to stop this. make fun of something like concord or lexington, but this woman was obviously joking. the crowd knew she was joking. you know, you get on the campaign trail and these people get tired. they'd like a laugh now and then. she's entitled to that. left wing barbs don't need to make things up. >> it's low hanging fruit. it's an anti-washington joke. >> it is a joke and there is a larger point here. i wish folks in the media will forget about the politicians talking religion. people in the m

eric ericson, and maria cardona. so we've talked about a lot of things. fidelity is here, we're talking about tax codes trying to break it all down. but i do want you all to chime in a little bit. we haven't yet seen romney's, but there's a lot of speculation about what we are going to see. how do you think that is going to weigh? let's start with you, eric. >> you know, i don't know how the comparison is going to play, frankly. it depends on what mitt romney's taxes say. the worst thing is the two little words that have been banning about this week and those are cayman islands. he's got an account in the cayman islands. people scratch their head over that. they're used to the john grisham novels. he's paid his taxes on it. there's nothing illegal about it. but it's kind of hard to run a man of the people, main street campaign when you've got a cayman islands bank account. he's going to have to be able to overcome that. as maria said, he's having a real hard time talking about these issues. just from a historic perspective, his father set the modern trend

eric ericson is editor in chief of red state.com and cnn analyst as well. good to see you, from macon. >> thank you. >> all right, gentlemen. this sa pretty bad week, say many, for the president. roland, you first. was that a big gaffe with real staying power, the president would say the private sector is doing fine? >> of course it's a big gaffe. in terms of staying power, look, expect other gaffes to come down. this is not like what took place in 2008, where senator john mccain made his comments about the economy, and then center obama jumped on it. that was a different situation, because that was, you know, right before the election -- >> ultimately did it impact the election? you don't think it would in this case, five months out? >> it's five months out. lots of things are going to transpire over the next five months. what happens when the next jobs report comes out. it's happening now early. big difference. if this was september, october, it would be a different story. >> eric, how do you see it? romney pounced on that pretty immediately, within an ho

joining me is eric ericson and alex soltice and ari fleischer. the republicans ready to fundamentally change their approach? or looking for a better way to package the positions they've already got? >> i don't think this is a small thing. this is not a matter of changing your positioned on a couple of issues. we need a -- remember, the philosophy republicans hold, freedom and opportunity for everybody. it works, and it's the reason people come to this country and have for generations anyway. nobody said, hey i'm coming to the country because i'll get more benefits here. peop people come because it's the land of opportunity. the republicans need to become the party of yes and the party of more. come here, this place has open arms for everybody, and democrats, yeah, you get more from government, but there is an end to that, it's going broke. with republicans, you get more from the economy, which is the real reason you come here. >> afterward the vote, all predictions, that young voters wouldn't turn out. your party hasn't made any headway in reachi

eric ericson, conservative editor of redstate.com, with me in washington and james carville, democratic strategist from new orleans tonight. i want to play a little bit more of what admiral mullen said today. i was struck here it is america's top military commander felt the need in the wake of this "rolling stone" article about general mcchrystal and what everybody views as cop temp shus disloyal conduct, admiral mullen making this point to the men and women in the united states who wear the uniform. >> we do not have that luxury those of us in the uniform, we do not have the right nor should we assume the prerogative to cast doubt upon the ability or mock the motives of our civilian leader, elected or appointed. we are and must remain a neutral instrument of the state, accountable to and respectful of those leaders. no matter which party holds sway or which person holds a given office. >> james, you wore the uniform. this is, goes back to george washington, the whole founding of the republic and that this admiral felt the need to lecture essentially the military, hey, listen, this is t

matt morgan and lauren ericson. >> thanks. >> thank you. >>> she's had a tunnel bat well drug addictionand on top of that country singer mindy mccready is in violation of a court order to return her son to his grandparents. court deadline to give 5-year-old zander back came and went yesterday. a representative for mccready says the child has been with his mother the last month and she's fearful about his safety. we invited mccready to join us again tonight but she declined. the child's father, billy mcknight is here. billy, people sore curious about the story. when is the last time you talked to mindy and to zander and what did she say? >> i talked to zander about 7:30 last night and mindy later on about 9:00 last night. she sounded upset with the situation, she thinks she has a case against florida and that she was going to stay hidden, they'd have to find her. >> you said once you decided to talk to the press she decided, mindy didn't want to talk to you anymore? >> her phone has been off since last night so i haven't been able to talk to zander today. >> what's your understanding of

but these same people, whether it's george will or eric ericson or other conservative xhen commentators saying we forgot to look at his record. on closer inspection, he's the only consistent conservative in this race. he's actually got a track record that he can bring to the table. he's got a history of bringing people together. and in a piece a couple of months ago, a piece said he can beat barack obama in any circumstances that are thrown at the race. >> jon huntsman, obviously i would love to talk to you, we know immediately what will happen in new hampshire. i'll buy you a foaming bit of bitter. i want a yes or no to this. newt gingrich, mitt romney unloaded bombs on him through the pacs. it clearly so far has backfired. if mitt romney decides you are a serious challenge to him during new hampshire's race, are you prepared, yes or no, to get down and dirty with him? will you fight fire with fire? >> absolutely. absolutely, piers. >> good answer. >> we have contrasting records. that's the only way to proceed. that's the way the game is played here in new hampshire and beyond. the sta

. >> eric ericson, you're plugged into the conservative community. rick santorum has had success in sign up prominent activists in the early stage. >> the outrage is that anyone is treating this candidacy for presidency viably. i knew what he meant in comparing slavery to the abortion issue of today. on that i completely agree with him. >> he is moving around, he has people watching him move around, he's had some controversial statements in the past. there's debate whether he should have used this language anyway. can he be a credible candidate for president? >> well, look, he is a strong social conservative who's a hero to the far right for that reason. will that translate to a general election win? probably not. this statement is actually, we understand what he was trying to say. you do get in a slippery slope when you start talking about abortion. the tread he was trying to make doesn't really work. good people can disagree on this issue. clearly rick santorum is running as a social conservative candidate for the president of the united states for

andrew rucher, the founder of a blog about how technology is changing politics, cnn contributor erick ericson, editor-in-chief of a conservative blog redstate.com and here in the studio our own gloria borger and joe johns. first to you, erick. are you worried that by starting to name bush again democrats are finding a strategy that's going to work for them in november? >> no, i don't think so. i think a lot of polling is also showing that voters are kind of over blaming bush and hope that the democrats will kind of own some of this. you know, it's easy for polling to pick up that voters like barack obama's alternatives to george bush because george bush still gives people a visceral reaction, even a lot of conservatives, but at the same time they also see what the results are, and they don't like the results. >> gloria, i mean, bush's name -- >> right, and there's been a lot of internal polling. bush's name, not good. >> right. >> so if you poll people and you say what about -- would you elect this generic republican with these generic republican economic policies, they are like, sure, okay,

ericson?well, the glenn beck rally that was five times the stewart rally, and all of those supporters fired up -- >> erik. >> and the total meltdown on the other network on election night, and that was hysterical to watch. >> that other network. okay. gentlem gentlemen, thank you for coming in. merry christmas to you, and for anybody out there watching, you, too. >>> and a republican candidate who mounted a stunning comeback. in the new chapter, she wants to cast votes that make her tea party critics cringe. [ female announcer ] where are people with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis going? they're discovering simponi®, the first self-injectable r.a. medicine you take just once a month. taken with methotrexate, simponi® helps relieve the pain, stiffness and swelling of r.a. with one dose once a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi® can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can

let's talk a little about eric ericson, you wrote this about rick santorum. it jumped out at me.d, wow. i really and genuinely do not get why we'd want to throw one senator-elected president out of office. you're referring to president obama. and replace him with a senator who couldn't even win re-election in his home state. you have no great love for rick santorum, to you? >> i don't dislike him. but this rick santorum rise boggles my mind. there are plenty of evangelicals in the race with longer records than rick santorum that are much more successful. in pennsylvania he lost by 18 per ser taj points. in fact, because of santorum's 18-point loss the republicans lost four house seats tied to santorum's re-election. he hasn't been elected since them. >> you don't like mitt romney either. >> i'm a none of the above guy right now. >> you don't like any of these candidates? >> none of them have really excited me. i'm really disappointed by this field. i really think we need to talk to some of these guys privately. not these guys. some of the guys that didn't run privately. they're n