john heileman, it's always great rhetoric to say the government is exploding, is ballooning with people. the government is getting bigger and bigger. and it's not.

sunday morning, hugo lindgren, john heilem heileman. mitt rom in my opinion came to the debate with his boxing gloves on, descend newt gingrich to the moon, panel? >> i do not think that newt brought his gloves, so that was part of the problem. >> so that was a yes? >> gingrich's moon idea is all i like about him. >> there was a lot of moon time last night. >> i think that romney needed a great performance and he therefore e delivered it. he could not afford another night of being on the ropes and let newt gingrich walk all over him. newt gingrich did not take the criticism nearly as well as he delivers it. >> john heileman, i want to bring you in because you were in debate central in jacksonville, we know that mitt romney has been working with brett o'donnell, and that seems to have paid off for him. >> yeah, brett o'donnell is a guy with a great reputation, he has worked with a lot of candidates for a lot of years and back before mccain, i saw him and he was pleased with his performance. i mentioned that someone on the twitter machine

thank you john heileman and chris williams.next, jon huntsman's rather pathetic goal for the south carolina primary. he's not aiming too high. that's next in the side show. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. >>> back to "hardball" for the side show. first is the 2012 candidates swoop into south carolina, what tops their list of priorities before next week's primary? one would think it's beating mitt romney, but jon huntsman has set his sights pretty low. here's his

thank you john heileman and chris williams.on huntsman's rather pathetic goal for the south carolina primary. he's not aiming too high. that's next in the side show. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] is zero worth nothing? ♪ imagine zero pollutants in our environment. or zero dependency on foreign oil. ♪ this is why we at nissan built a car inspired by zero. because zero is worth everything. the zero gas, 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. my feet and exactly where i n

>> well, i love john heileman, but i disagree with two of the things he said. if gingrich spins it correctly, a close second could be enough. and i think if he does win here, or even spins a close second, i if santorum gets out, i think he could win florida. in part because it is a tea party now. in part because there is -- the reason romney has something of a ceiling is because the party has shifted in a way where the establishment doesn't control absolutely. the tea party matters. the florida contest is going to be a lot of conservative republicans voting, and gingrich is well known there. and again, just a few weeks ago, gingrich had an overwhelming lead in florida. so there's a large number of people who at least one point in the not too distant past were willing to say they were for newt gingrich. if he comes out of here with a head of steam, they could be for him again. >> let's look at the new development. it brings up questions about gingrich. an incredible interview with abc news. his second wife reveals that newt said their marriage -- let's.her speak

john heileman, we are fwguessin by what margin the mitt romney need to end this thing and put it away? those are two different questions, alex and first of all, i want to make sure that i'm to record predicting what the outcome will be. i believe the margin will be 2.7394. >> i think that is pi squared by pi. i'm kidding but i like the decimal points. please continue. >> i offer that. i think that there are two different questions one is what the media narrative is coming out of florida. and what is coming outside of newt gingrich's head, if romney wins in double digits i think a lot of people in the press will call it a huge victory, i don't think that they will say that he has wrapped the nomination up, he will not have done that, and the fact that the media has a rooting interest in keeping the race going, there's people that want to see the race go on. they will be abetted by point number two hwhich is to say, i don't think that there's anything that will stop gingrich from fighting another month or at least into march. he is angry, and he has been treated unfairly and he is a lit

. >> john heileman, and msnbc political analyst and man in manchester, how are you this morning? >> we all miss you. it's good here. >> let's talk about the mitt romney sound, which seems to be taylor made for the political attack ads for the coming days and months. >> look, i think it right. and in the hours to come. as you know over the weekend, santorum and gingrich opened up on romney and decided to make it a big issue in the closing days before the new hampshire primary. they will hit him hard on that and the sound that you just played will come into play in the news cycle today. it's a gaffe, a real gaffe and it expoeses him on an issue heading into south carolina and certainly the people in chicago that collect video the way that they do are laughing and smiling over having that piece of sound to use in the fall. >> i thought i heard someone say you could hear david axelrod's tail wagging. it was picked up on not two hours after it was aired. jon huntsman came out with this. >> i will always put my country first, it seems that governor romney believes in putting politics f