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we launched him, we want to sink him. >> republican iowa governor terry branstad. need i say that? so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. good to be with you. >>> coming up, mitt romney plays down iowa expectations but the signs are pointing to a good night for the former massachusetts governor. we'll explain next. oh it's clearance time! yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. othis was the gulf's bestces tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can g

we'll talk to terry branstad the governor about that in a little while. you know it's official, the clock is on the tv. nine hours now, nine and a half hours first votes for 2012, and this presidential nomination will be cast. newt gingrich seeing a decline in the polls. a month ago he was flying high in iowa. gingrich saying he's poised to pull off one of the greatest caucus upsets in history. the difference he says comes down to experience. >> i should win the iowa caucuses because i am the only candidate who can successfully debate obama in the fall and the only candidate who has a track record twice with reagan and as speaker changing wash washington. everyone else would be an amateur in the obama tradition who would not know what to do or how to do it if they won. bill: this morning i spoke directly with newt gingrich before his first stop of the day. earlier this morning you called mitt romney a liar. what's he lying about? >> well, i look at mitt romney fails to tell the truth at three levels. he won't tell the throughout about his own record. he i

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. >> joining me now, iowa republican governor terry branstad. governor, good morning. >> good morning. great to be with you. >> what's going on in your state? love your state. i have family there. but 41% of voters could still change their mind? why? we've never seen anything like this. >> well, you know, the lead has changed hands just about as many times as you can imagine. in fact, rick santorum's the only one who's not been in the lead and now there's some people who think he might be the one who will actually win. i think iowa voters are looking for the best candidate, nobody's perfect but they're looking for a strong candidate because they know the country's in trouble. when you increase the national debt more than a trillion dollars every year that obama has been president and when you attack the private sector business decision makers, the entrepreneurs, businesses that need to create jobs, i think people realize, we need a new leader, we need a new president. >> but when you say -- >> and this is important and serious business. >> when

we launched -- we want to sink him. >> republican iowa governor terry branstad. need i say that? you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >>> coming up, mitt romney plays down iowa expectations but the signs are pointing to a good night for the former massachusetts governor. we'll explain next. coughs, sneezing, fevers?you kne tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow, ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums >>> filled by the electability factor mitt romney's momentum

we are honored to have iowa governor terry branstad and jeff, national political correspondent of the new york times. not so honored to have jeff. happy new year, first of all. >> welcome to iowa. >> chris: thank you, sir. governor, you watched the campaign and now the final des moines register polls. what is going to happen tuesday? >> it is very fluid. any of the candidates potentially could win here 86 think everybody has had the lead at some point or another. i predicted all along, rick santorum who has done it the old fashioned way, gone to all 99 counties, worked hard, built a great organization. he is coming on strong. romney got a late start but he has come back. i think governor perry is going to do better than some people think and obviously congressman paul has a strong organization, a lot of people committed to him here. it is a wide open race. it all depends upon who turns out. i think we will have a good turnout. i think people are unhappy with the direction of this country under obama, the national debt has gone up $1 trillion every year. and the president is attacking

we are honored to have iowa governor terry branstad and jeff, national political correspondent of the new york times. not so honored to have jeff. happy new year, first of all. >> welcome to iowa. >> chris: thank you, sir. governor, you watched the campaign and now the final des moines register polls. what is going to happen tuesday? >> it is very fluid. any of the candidates potentially could win here 86 think everybody has had the lead at some point or another. i predicted all along, rick santorum who has done it the old fashioned way, gone to all 99 counties, worked hard, built a great organization. he is coming on strong. romney got a late start but he has come back. i think governor perry is going to do better than some people think and obviously congressman paul has a strong organization, a lot of people committed to him here. it is a wide open race. it all depends upon who turns out. i think we will have a good turnout. i think people are unhappy with the direction of this country under obama, the national debt has gone up $1 trillion every year. and the president is attacking

you have the governor of the state terry branstad have not decided and you haven't decided and chuckre has not decided. why not commit to mitt romney? he is at the top of the polls. >> i think we like all of these candidates and that is part of. . rick santorum has worked this state so hard and i believe he will be rewarded tomorrow night for that work. michele bachmann is a very close friend. we agree across the board on approach. there is more that i would do that she hasn't endorsed but we agree on across the board on what she does endorse. then if we look at rick perry, he brings -- comes as an executive from a state perspective. i would say the one place where i do disagree is even though i congratulate ron paul for all that he has done for sound money, constitutionalism, fiscal responsibility and his foreign policy concerns me a lot. >> do you think that in the end, he might run as a third-party candidate? there is talk of that. >> he's never said no to that. he's talked around the subject. he's been point blank a number of times but he has never said no to that. i am concerned

up next iowa republican terry branstad talks about events in his state for the past year. this is about half an hour. >> thank you, thank you. >> madam lieutenant governor, mr. president, mr. speaker, leaders, justices and judges, legislators, distinguished guests, family members and fellow iowans. today it is my honor to stand before you and deliver this, my 17th state of the state address in this great chamber. and while 17 doesn't sound like such a big number to me, my wife chris would say i just don't know when to quit talking. i stand here today older and wiser than during my first such opportunity those years ago, but with a heart full of pride, a head full of ideas and with a state full of new opportunities to grow and prosper as never before. last year we, like many other states, faced serious budget challenges and unacceptably high levels of unemployment. 89 programs were funded with one-time money due to run out to the tune of $900 million, in other words, nearly one-sixth of our entire general fund budget. more than 100 iowans were out of work and seeking jobs a

and then to iowa, where republican governor terry branstad gives his annual address. and after that, vermont democrat peter shumlin and his speech. >> april 15th, 2010 i had arrived in paris, walked into the hotel lobby, met general mcchrystal for the first time. and he looked at me and he said, "so you're the rolling stone guy. i don't care about the article. i just want to be on the cover." >> michael hastings wrote about the commander of u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan in the june 2010 issue of "rolling stone." >> i said, well, sir, i think it's between you and lady gaga. you know, i was just trying to make some joke, not knowing lady gaga was actually going to be on the cover. general mcchrystal replied "just put me and lady gaga in a heart-shaped tub." and i thought this is a different kind of general. this is going to be a different kind of story. >> but several months later as a result of the article, general mcchrystal had been fired. michael hastings continues the story and talks about his new book "the operators" on c-span's q&a. >>> c-span's road to the

>>> it has been said that an endorsement from a five-term iowa republican governor terry branstad could branstad joins us now this morning. governor, good to see you. >> great to be here. thank you for being in the state capitol capitol, our beautiful law library. >> we're waiting on pins and needles. who are you for? >> i've tried to be a good host and welcome all the candidates. we appreciate the time the energy, the effort all the volunteers and all the money they're spending in iowa. and so i think the voters should decide that. i've never thought that endorsements were worth a lot. and consequently i'm going to keep my vote secret. but i want to do all i can to try to unite the republicans because we just cannot afford four more years of obama because he's increased the national debt $1 trillion every year that he's been president. he attacks the very people we need to invest to create jobs the entrepreneurs and the businesspeople. and we just need new leadership. and i think the voters should choose the one they think is the strongest. there's a lot of candidates. making the choic

joining me now is republican governor terry branstad of iowa. you so much for being here. >> you welcome. megyn: the building is beautiful -- >> hey, we're glad to have you in the capitol, uss iowa the bell and model right behind you. megyn: it's a pleasure. let's talk about these contingencies. the latest polls showing 41% of folks are still undecided, and that means it could be anybody's ball game. let's talk about independents and what role they could play. >> first of all, they'd have to reregister as republican to vote in the caucus. megyn: and that's true of democrats? a democrat can walk in -- >> yes, you can change your registration. you can do that on election day here, too, in the primary general election. so, but you do have to be a registered republican at the time that you vote. megyn: okay. >> so i think last time you did see a number of independents voted, actually, in the democratic caucuses. i would expect we'll see 10-15% of independents, but because they're not happy with the direction of the country, they feel betrayed by oba

the governor, terry branstad is talking about 140 sthou peop,00 coming.t. >> 119,000 three years ago. we've seen a resurgence with republicans, 33 months of straight registration gains, largest straw vote. i wouldn't be surprised to see if we set a new record. >> the crowds have been small. there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of enthusiasm for almost any of these candidates. >> i had a chance to get to four different events yesterday. the iowans i ran into were engaged, enthusiastic. they're definitely going to turn out. >> debbie, the president is the man that everybody's taking target practice at metaphorically here. he's going to be addressing caucus goers on democratic side trying to maintain some presence. obviously, key swing state you want to capture next time around. what is he going to say? his video tonight? >> the president's going to talk about, it's a live stream. he's going to be appearing live in several caucus sites. he's going to talk about where we've been and how far we've come. knowing we have a long way to go, he's taken us from blee

one goal has been support of the state's enormously popular republican governor, and terry branstad refuses why don't you personally endorse any of the candidates? >> well, i want to be a good host. and i want to do all i can to encourage candidates to come to iowa, meet the people and aggressively campaign here. i think they certainly have done that. >> two of the more striking aspects of the iowa campaign, i think, have been the surging approval rating for rick santorum, which many are putting down to the fact he visited all 99 counties. a pretty staggering investment >> two of the more striking aspects of the iowa campaign, i think, have been the surging approval rating for rick santorum, which many are putting down to the fact he visited all 99 counties. a pretty staggering investment in your state. secondly, that mitt romney having not really shown much interest certainly in recent weeks has been piling into iowa like his life depends on it. what do you make of those two events? >> well, first and foremost, rick santorum followed by advice and just what i've done every -- i've been ele

terry branstad. welcome, governor. >> welcome, bret.o have you at our capitol building. >> a gorgeous place, thanks for having us. i heard you talk about predictions or turn out. the weather is pretty nice and what is your thought about coming out. >> my friend says a lot of peopler concerned about the direction the country is going. the national debt going up more than a trillion dollars every year since obama has been president and this obama health care thing is unaffordable, unsustainable. i think that iowans want to see a change and i think they'll get out in big numbers tonight and predicting we'll have a record breaking turnout and i think it's going in the range of 130,000 people participating in the republican caucuses. >> now, in 2008. it was 119,000 plus. >> right. >> that would be a big turnout? >> that would be a great turnout and i'm going up to the precinct, boone county rural precinct number 4 at ogden, iowa. we'll see what a good turnout we had. i think we had a good turnout four years ago and i think it will be bigger.

coming up next, we will talk to the governor of iowa, terry branstad.irst, the campaign 2012 bus is in iowa, today hosting students from vanderbilt university who are getting inside it looks at the caucus process. >> the way they do that is by participating in something called the iowa caucus rolling seminar, coming and splitting into three teams, team romney, a teeming gingrich, and team america. participating in the process. tell us what team you are on. >> i am team mitt romney. . newt.am >> team america. >> what are the standouts since you arrive for the caucus process? >> meeting the people, meeting iowans directly involved, being here and experiencing the caucus. they have been alarming as to how dedicated they are to their causes. >> what did you learn that you did not know before? >> i did not know how different it could be at each county. different people provide different insights. they operate the caucuses entirely differently. >> all of you have participated in this process via twitter. they took photos of their expenses and posted them on t

possible last minute surprises with tim albrecht, the communications director for iowa governor terry branstad and an old pro at the caucus process. tim, so far the weather here in iowa is cold but lovely, what kind of a difference does that make in terms of turnout tonight? >> thanks, megyn. the weather makes a huge difference here not only on caucus day, but in the month leading up to the caucuses when all of these candidates were doing their bus tours, stopping on town squares, going into local pizza ranches. a lot of people turned out to see these candidates because iowans gather their information right from the candidate, and that's been beneficial because when a candidate's in front of an iowan, they ask for their support, and if an iowan gives you their word they're going to support you at the caucus, you better believe they'll follow through on caucus night. megyn: and yet 41% of them continue to say they are undecided in terms of who they will cast their vote for, so the actual caucus process tonight, how critical is it, how important is the exchange of information and the conversatio

terry branstad, it's nice to have you. appreciate you joining us in the diner this morning. tonight. describe what i'm going to see. chaos? big numbers? small numbers? what do you think? >> i think you're going to see a record turnout for the republican caucus in iowa. >> 150,000 people? >> well, over 120,000. i'm estimating 130,000. the most is 118,400. so i think there's a lot of are. iowa launched obama. i think iowans want to sink obama. they're not happy. they feel the country is going in the wrong direction. the national debt has gone up more than a trillion each year he's been president. we need to invest, take the risk to create jobs and revitalized the private sector economy in this country. we in iowa just feel that we're going the wrong direction and we need a new leader. >> what's your prediction for tonight? everyone is talking about santorum's momentum. is he the person who has launched this evening? >> it's done the right thing. he went to alm 99 counties. he's methodically worked very hard. he spent more time and met more people in iowa and he's made a good i

[applause] iowa governor terry branstad says his state can be a model for the nation on how democrats and republicans can work together on budget issues. governor branstad's condition of the state address of the iowa general assembly in des moines is half an hour. [applause] thank you. thank you. [applause] madam lieutenant gabbard, mr. president, mr. speaker, leaders, justices and judges, legislators, elected officials, distinguished guests, families, friends and fellow iowans come to the it is my honor to stand before you and deliver this, my 17th state of the state address in this great chamber. and while 17 doesn't sound like such a big number to me, my wife chris would say i just don't know when to quit talking. [laughter] i stand here today older and wiser than during my first such opportunity in those years ago, but with a heart full of pride, a head full of ideas and with a state full of new opportunities to grow and prosper as never before. last year, we, like many of your states, faced serious budget challenges and unacceptably high levels of unemployment. 89 programs were f

terry branstad joins us. let me show you your paper, "the des moines register." "the final 36 hours. are you going to endorse? >> i am not going to endorse. i just want to be a good house, and i will go to my precinct caucus in ogden, iowa, to participate tomorrow night i think we will have a great turnout. i take this very seriously. i am hopeful that we will have a wonderful turnout tomorrow night. host: why not endorse? guest: as governor of the first in the nation caucus, i want to make sure we have a level playing field and everybody has an opportunity. i think what rick santorum has done is show that even without a lot of resources who puts together an organization and goes to all 99 counties in iowa can do very well. mitt romney has come back here and put a lot of effort in in the closing weeks. early on, i was a little critical that he did not spend enough time, certainly he is spending a lot of time and energy now. they have been doing a bus torbit ron paul has spent a lot of time here. he, too, is doing well. we tell politics is important. we know the d

terry branstad, it's nice to have you. appreciate you joining us in the diner this morning.at i'm going to see. chaos? big numbers? small numbers? what do you think? >> i think you're going to see a record turnout for the republican caucus in iowa. >> 150,000 people? >> well, over 120,000. i'm estimating 130,000. the most is 118,400. so i think there's a lot of are. iowa launched obama. i think iowans want to sink obama. they're not happy. they feel the country is going in the wrong direction. the national debt has gone up more than a trillion each year he's been president. we need to invest, take the risk to create jobs and revitalized the private sector economy in this country. we in iowa just feel that we're going the wrong direction and we need a new leader. >> what's your prediction for tonight? everyone is talking about santorum's momentum. is he the person who has launched this evening? >> it's done the right thing. he went to alm 99 counties. he's methodically worked very hard. he spent more time and met more people in iowa and he's made a good impression. he got the

then last year, the register's iowa poll right before the gubernatorial primary predicted that terry branstad beat him by just nine. don't pay attention to what the polls say and instead, people should vote for who the best candidate is. >> one of the mistakes that newt himself talked about making, he talked about it this weekend is he wishes he had addressed the issue of the money that he took from freddie and fannie in a more straight forward fashion, he would have explained it to people better. are you borderthered by the fac that he took that money from fannie and freddie? >> i'm not sure that how people couldn't be bothered by that given the colossal failure of those organizations. as somebody who has had a chance to vet these candidates the last couple of years, i found myself realizing that there are fatal flaws with every one of them that i could justify not voting for them because of those. so instead, i decided i'm going to make a decision based on whose ideas offer the most hope for my children and grandchildren and i think there are two candidates that are offering those ideas. on