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

we'll ask terry branstad who has the inside edge in his all-important state.his was the gulf's best 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 go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call th

even governor branstad talked about this.llion. >> some of it just before the housing market collapsed. >> that is the voice of our own jan crawford in there. what do the dials mean and why was that ad successful? >> we test all of these ads on the second by second basis. they use a remote control and turn it up and down based on whether they are influenced or not. that is one of the most powerful because it shows gingrich at his worst. makes him a washington insider which is exactly what republicans don't want. i don't necessarily agree with joe klein about the wealth of the candidate hurting mitt romney. what these voters are looking for is consistency and predictability which is why gingrich got hurt in the ad and mitt romney was attacked by the obama campaign and he got hurt to consistency. >> you talk about mitt romney being attacked for consistency. the dnc, democratic national committee, they don't have to spend money and put it up online and all of the free media which is people like us pick up that ad and show it lik

and governor branstad mentioned a lot of these.obviously theee memory news increase in the national debt of $5 trillion in four years which is a world record. second of all is the mortgage foreclosures, people losing their homes and people worried about losing their homes. and the third one, obviously is maybe the most important one, which is unemployment. the jobs are just not there, and that is what president obama promised four years ago. bill: a couple of things that are going to be -- these are going to go into the fact mill for the next eleven months. no president reelected with unemployment this high since fdr, this goes back to the 30s. economic approval rating is at 39%. what does that tell you based on history? >> that explains to you, bill, why the president isn't running on his record, because it's not a record that is very defensible and that's why the president has moved more to this kind of class warfare line about us versus them and the 1% versus the 99%. i really believe people go to the polls on november 5th of th

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 thinks it's okay for iran to have a nuclear weapon. i don't. >> ron paul is not getting the nomination. >> someone that is so out of sync with the american people that they don't need to be the president of the united states. >> could you vote for him? >> no. >> reporter: through it all paul's fervent support in iowa has not wavered. he is marching on dropping major cash for ads in new hampshire and south carolina, and he's confident enou

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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

. >> 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

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.

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

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. 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

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

governor branstad. how many people get tickets out of iowa in your best go guess. you use names or not use names. how many of the six candidates actively contest nothing iowa. they can all decide to run. how many come out in a viable fashion. >> there is three tickets out of the iowa. we limit it to three. i don't think more than three. but it is going to be interesting. it is a volatile situation to see what is going to happen. but also iowa voters and i think americans generally are watching and watched the debates and are following this closely. i am encouraged by what i think will be a big turn out. i think people know we can't afford to continue the direction we are going. obama has failed and the trillion dollar increase in national debt every year . the fact that instead of being a president while people gather. he is divisive and only way to win he thinks is attack the people we need to create the jobs. >> chris: we only have a minute left. you say three tickets out. assuming that the des moines register poll is right. newt gingrich, perry and bachmann woul

governor branstad is back.the house and things. it will be pretty even up. the good thing is we'll come back to iowa many times between now and next november. >> if the unemployment rate goes back up to about 9%, that's worst case scenario, how does the president make his case for re-election? if the number goes up again to the 9% which seems to awful? >> well, it is, but you know, the case is that the contrast between what the candidates are offering. you have, whether it's mitt romney or rick perry or whomever is running on the republican side or platform, they're running against a plan for the -- it's economic security of the middle class. the president is presenting a contrast to that. i would encourage anybody to go back and read the speech the president gave when he won the iowa caucuses. he promised a tax cut for middle class, end to the war in iraq. affordable, accessible health care to americans. he's done those. the journey is not done. he wants to continue that the next four years, five years. >> you

governor branstad was governor when ronald reagan was in 1984.ondale and heart and everybody is out here, we need reagan to come out and join the primaries. we flew reagan out and did a rally bigger than theirs in the middle of their event. he wanted to play the game, they are building a structure there, he would have flown out and had 1,000 people or 2,000 people in iowa the night before, or the night after to show that he is really functioning. to this was amateur hour. >> it's really surprising, isn't it? it's such a marked contrast between the great orator, the person with the flowing rhetoric to give incredible. >> yeah. >> the democratic convention and heard him speech and everybody was awe-struck. here is problem. he has a record now. he has actually some things that are tied to him and it's like albatross around him. he can't escape the record spending, the deficit, unemployment number, lack of jobs. he said give me a chance. i need four more years to get what i need to get done. the guy looks defeated and beaten. somebody give him gerito

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