i'm joined by the woman of the hour, ann seltzer with the best track record for predicting the unpredictable. and in washington, chris sa little za. ann, the most surprising thing about your results was santorum was in third place but in the last two days of your polling when you were in the field, the momentum was all in the direction of santorum actually being neck and neck with mitt romney. >> exactly. it's almost as if we had two polls as far as rick santorum was concerned. the first two days he hung in at 10, he had been in just single digits. the second two days he's at 20 and doubled his support in a very short period of time and really the early polling days didn't reflect what ended up happening. >> and what will ended up happening was certainly timed right after the cnn poll came out on wednesday showing that he was moving up and that he could be more electable. and then our poll on friday. you were still in the field. so is it the electability, the fact that he might be viable and not just a fringe candidate that might be beginning to persuade people? >> i think that iowans have r

>> if you look at the "des moines register" poll, which is respected because anne seltzer who runs it has a good track record of predicting the final out com, the poll suggests real momentum for santorum. when they first started polling last tuesday, he got 10% of the vote. by friday he got 22% of the vote. if that surge continues, he could become the candidate for those voters who want anybody but romney. the challenge for santorum is whether that group of voters is big enough. >> jeff: which could end up meaning more good news for romney. >> romney could come out on top if other voters are spread out among his other challengers. one additional reason evangelical voters have not coalesced around a romney alternative is that while he may not be their first choice, he's not objectionable. in the same "des moines register" poll, 76% of voters said they would be enthusiastic or just fine if romney won the nomination. that may in part be because of another finding in that poll. 48% said romney was the most electable candidate in the general election. his closest competitor, gingrich gingr

in ann seltzer's poll, he went from tenth to fourth.'s more knowledgeable about her party. i trust that trend. i think he's going to win here. >> dana, how surprised are you by santorum's surge? does it have any life regardless of how he does, assuming he's in the top three here? does very a campaign beyond iowa? >> no, i don't think that he does. rick santorum, one of the reasons he's surging right now in iowa is because all of the other non-romney contenders have fallen at some point. newt gingrich being the latest one. now we're watching his popularity drop off. and so now rick santorum is whom everyone is looking. beyond iowa, he doesn't have the same level of groundwork. he definitely doesn't have enough money in the bank. i realize now that they're getting some fund-raising, but it says quite a lot when the funds you're getting in in the past three days are more or equal to what you've received in six months total. that says quite a lot. i don't think that he's really going to be able to go beyond iowa. that's just because he's a

plus pollster ann seltzer and chrysalis sa take us behind the numbers.l talk to his campaign manager. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. >>> welcome back. it's time for what now. first up, how is occupy wall street shaping up in 2012? this is a question we've bandied about a lot on the show. we know in the iowa 10, iowa caucus protests are were arrested and in 68 protesters were arrested in zuccotti park on new year's eve. in california, there are protests planned for the rose bowl parade in pasadena. what is your prognosis for this movement? >> you know, somewhere in the ocean a shark is being jumped. i have to say. i think the movement did a really great service by bringing the issues of inequality back, but i had i they are so disorganized and refuse to organize into a coherent narrative. after awhile, you're like okay, you're marching, getting arrested. what's your point? >> i thought they were doing i

anne seltzer, thank you for being here this morning. guest: my pleasure. host: we want to tell you a little bit about what is coming up on tomorrow's edition of "the washington journal." we will again be talking with folks from des moines, iowa. robert haus is our first guest. then we have let up

i daresay everybody -- >> well, if you look at the iowa poll, ann seltzer does the iowa poll, she hasccurate predictor of outcomes in the country. so i really believe the poll says this is going to be a very close race. it comes to turnout and the undecideds, who is the most persuasive? >> so when newt gingrich tells me, yeah, i could win it, anything could happen. >> it's possible. it's definitely possible. >> everybody is deciding, literally, now, tonight. >> well, because i'm the governor and i want to be a good host, and i think the iowa caucuses are important. we want everybody to feel welcome. we want it to be a fair contest, and we want iowa to really whittle the field and help begin the process of choosing a new leader for the united states. >> i had a couple people from occupy iowa and occupy des moines on the set a little bit earlier today and they told me that they have no plans to really try to disrupt the caucusing. are you worried still? >> that's good. >> i know you moved the vote count. >> they've done a good job of providing security and making sure that people get an

i daresay everybody -- >> well, if you look at the iowa poll, ann seltzer does the iowa poll, she hasoutcomes in the country. so i really believe the poll says this is going to be a very close race. it comes to turnout and the undecideds, who is the most persuasive? >> so when newt gingrich tells me, yeah, i could win it, anything could happen. >> it's possible. it's definitely possible. >> everybody is deciding, literally, now, tonight. >> well, because i'm the governor and i want to be a good host, and i think the iowa caucuses are important. we want everybody to feel welcome. we want it to be a fair contest, and we want iowa to really whittle the field and help begin the process of choosing a new leader for the united states. >> i had a couple people from occupy iowa and occupy des moines on the set a little bit earlier today and they told me that they have no plans to really try to disrupt the caucusing. are you worried still? >> that's good. >> i know you moved the vote count. >> they've done a good job of providing security and making sure that people get an opportunity to parti

seltzer plus allergy. >>> up next, president obama takes on a do-nothing congress. jonathan alter and joy-annric cantor and his press secretary refuse to believe president reagan rose taxes. ezra klein has the facts. >>> don't forget to tweet us using #edshow. stay tuned. be right back. e of the fat you . let's fight fat with alli. ♪ flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new vicks nature fusion cold & flu. ♪ car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have, like, a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um" or "no comment." then there's esurance. born online, raised by technology, and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save. hassle, time, paperwork, hair-tearing-out, and, yes, especially dollars. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call. >>> president obama's re-election strategy is taking shape. as the "the new york times" reports, after three years in office, mr. obama is gambling on a go