i'm howard kurtz, and this is "reliable sources." >>> if the final days before the primary, newt gingrich needed another strong debate performance to overtake mitt romney. the presidential debates, after all, have pretty much become the campaign, and after beating up on the likes of chris wallace and maria bartiromo and most notably, john king, there was every reason to expect that the former house speaker would unleash another anti-media tyrade. here's what happened at the cnn debate in jacksonville. >> are you satisfied right now with the level of transparency as far as his personal finances? >> this is a nonsense question. >> you made an issue when you say he lives in a world of swiss bank accounts. >> i didn't say that, you did. >> i am happy to say that on an interview tv show. >> you make a serious accusation against governor romney like that, you need to explain that. >> that moment seemed to crystallize an increasingly rough media environment for gingrich with want just florida, but perhaps his entire candidacy on the line. joining us now to examine the coverage of this very inten

let's put it that way. >> thank you, howard kurtz. brian ross will join him on "reliable sources" right here on cnn. >>> the road to the republican nomination for president stops next in south carolina. watch cnn saturday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern with the south carolina primary results. >>> and these are live pictures taking place in south carolina. we'll keep an eye on this and if it gets interesting we'll bring it to you. >>> also coming up, an ex cop is fighting for his life. >> i was convicted of second-degree murder with deprafed indifference in 1997 and i was sentenced to 20 years to life. >> he says it was self-defense and eventually set free but a twist of fate sent him back to prison. is a twisted justice system to blame? a live report next. o0 c1 2 o0 [ beep ] [ man ] you have one new message. [ mom ] hi scooter. this is mommy. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. the vegetables are cut nice and thick... you were always good at cutting your vegetables. and it's got tender white-meat chicken... the way i always

i'm howard kurtz and we're kicking off the 2012 season onsome reliable sources." happy new year to all of you. it's obviously not a holiday for much of the political press gearing up for actual voting of 2012 after a year of prediction and prognostication. after treating ron paul as an entertaining side show they reacted to his rise in the polls the same way michele bachmann, rick perry, herman cain and newt gingrich shot up in surveys by belatedly examining his record including incendiary and racist news letters that were published under his name for years. >> there are racy and racist things. >> quote, it sure burns me to have a national holiday for that pro communist philanderer. i voted against this outrage as a congressman. what an infamy ronald reagan approved it. we can thank him for annual hate whitey day. >> we're constantly told it is evil to be afraid of black men. it is hardly irrational. order was only restored in l.a. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks. >> pretty strong stuff. joining us from the state capital in des moi

i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday, 11:00 a.m. eastern for another critical look at the media. "state of the union" with candy crowley begins right now. >> south carolina is next. the firewall of the primary season, likely the last best chance for someone to slow mitt romney. today, rick perry on his outsider approach, sizing up the competition with obama campaign strategist david axelrod. >> we're going to have a big debate about our visions for the future. >> romney supporter senator john mccain on the perils and promise of south carolina. >>> plus, south carolina's powerful evangelical voting bloc. who will win the lion's share? with rev right hand brad adkins and bob jones iii. >> everything is up for grabs in my estimation. >> i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." >>> over 100 leaders in the social conservative community met in texas for two days and emerged with a single name, rick santorum for president. it is a blow to texas governor rick perry, a born-again christian whose political grounding is fiscal and social conservatism. tony perkins, head of the f

i'm howard kurtz-happy new year. we'll be in new hampshire next sunday at 11:00 a.m. eastern. "state of the union" with candy crowley in iowa ge ginns right now. >>> good morning and happy new year from iowa. a state where romney could begin to end it, paul could complicate it, and any candidate could surprise. today, ron paul on the perils and promise of the efforts here and rick santorum on the sudden spotlight over his booming campaign, then the lay of the land from two influential iowan republicans, governor terry branstad and congressman steve king. fresh off the campaign trail "the washington post" dan balz "the wall street journal's" neil king give us their perspective. i'm candy crowley in des moines. and this is "state of the union". it's been a rough couple of weeks for ron paul. his top-tier seeding hs brought new scrutiny to some of his old writings. now big enough threat to draw unanimous dismissals from opponents. >> he's unelectable. >> you need to think long and hard about in casting your vote for congressman paul. >> one of the people running for president thi

i'm howard kurtz. join us again. we're back in d.c. next sunday morning for another critical look at media. "state of the union" with candy crowley begins right now. >>> good morning from new hampshire. suppose they held two do-or-die debates and everyone survived? well, then -- advantage mitt romney. >>> the guy with double-digit leads in new hampshire and the next-up primary state of south carolina. today, jon huntsman on whether his underdog pitch can change up the race. >> we have to show big. >>> then newt bites back. the battle is joined with romney surrogate john sununu and gingrich advisor bob walker. >>> plus, house democratic leader nancy pelosi on the president's re-election campaign. >> i think he should run against this do-nothing congress. >>> and off the trail to give us a primary preview -- phil rucker of the "washington post" and neil king of the "wall street journal." >>> i'm candy crowley, and this is "state of the union." >>> ignoring the iowa caucuses, jon huntsman planted himself here in the granite state, holding

. >>> i'm howard kurtz and this is the new hampshire edition of "reliable sources." >>> the media narrative here in new hampshire is set. mitt romney wins easily, everyone else fights for second place. sounds right, but remember four years ago when everyone in the press was convinced that barack obama would beat hillary clinton here? so much political coverage is driven by assumptions which, in turn, are driven by polls. take a look at these interviews with rick santorum in the weeks and months before his last-minute surge in iowa. >> what space do you occupy in this race? are you the conservative, truth teller? >> you're the underdog, relatively little money, fair to say. for republicans whose main concern is to defeat barack obama in 2012, aren't there several candidates who realistically stand a better chance of doing that than you? >> with poll numbers from michele bachmann and rick perry plummeting, why are not more of the social conservatives, the so-called anti-mitt romney, why is that contingent not gravitating toward you? >> joining us here in manchester to talk about the campaign

i'm howard kurtz.inue to follow the breaking news story of the death of joe paterno, the former penn state football coach. stay tuned for more on that. as for our program, join us next sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern for another critical look at the media. you can also download the podcast on itunes or follow us on facebook or twitter. that's it for us. "state of the union with candy crowley" begins right now. >>> good morning from the campus of the university of south

i'm howard kurtz.inue to follow the breaking news story of the death of joe paterno, the former penn state football coach. stay tuned for more on that. as for our program, join us next sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern for another critica

i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday at 11:00 a.m. eastern for another critical look at the media. "state of the union" with candy crowley begins right now. >>> florida, the tie-breaker. could give romney a second wind or establish gingrich as more than a one-state wonder or cause santorum and paul to recalculate. today, life after the sunshine state. >> there's a lot of enthusiasm for the cause of liberty, isn't there? >> politics with presidential candidate ron paul. a primary preview with florida governor rick scott. plus, working with the president. or not. with senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. and then wooing the latino vote with los angeles major antonio villaraigosa and former commerce secretary carlos gutierrez. i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." there are more delegates at stake in florida than any of the previous contests. so major momentum will come out of this winner-take-all state. naturally ron paul, a road less traveled kind of guy, spent the week in maine. >> what am i doing in maine? why am i not in florida? to get delegates. that's what