i don't know how many south carolinians will resent that. i guess we'll have to find out on saturday. but i think for the most part south carolinians are willing to stand on their own and work hard and we don't generally want to take from what other people are making. >> we talked a lot in the early months of this campaign. tea party activists in your state, tea party activists all around the country. many of them, senator, were hoping you would join the race for president. you decided not to do that. now you've decided not to endorse as your state votes on saturday. some people look at governor romney, look at his record say he's an established politician but they don't view him as a tea party darling. some people say if he wins south carolina and he's the de facto republican nominee, some will say the tea party fizzled, that it didn't have much influence this cycle. is that fair? >> no, it's not. i've got a lot of tea party supporters and they seem to be equally split among all these candidates. there are a number of them supporting romney

south carolinians are looking for a conservative candidate that will get this candidate back workingagain, and i'm it. >> i believe the next seven days are as important as anything we may have seen. i believe that south carolinians will pick one conservative or by default we're going to send the moderate. >> reporter: now that iowa and new hampshire have wrapped up, wroor' starting to see the race move into bigger states where money talks. romney has raised $24 million but not as much as president obama. he's in chicago. he has three separate fund-raisers scheduled there. >> south carolina two weeks away. where do the candidates stand. >> reporter: mitt romney would like to say he's not a front-runner. look at the latest poll. it was taken before new hampshire. it shows mitt romney clearly in the lead. the folks hoping to slow down his momentum have a lot riding on south carolina. we're seeing all six candidates going into the state. we'll see that field 10 days from now. >>> to the other side, first lady michelle obama said she's tired of people portraying her as some angry kind of

where teacher at it people, south carolinians. we love our state of another country. we love our men and women who put on that uniform to keep it safe. they are our parents and children, husbands and wives, our mother is from our fathers are siblings, our friends. we are honored to have witnessed the parents of one of his heroes, lance corporal william kyl carpenter from gilbert, who was in afghanistan and is continuing his recovery at walter reid. the prayers of south carolina continue to be with kyl and all of our wounded veterans. mr. and mrs. jim carpenter, thank you for being here. please stand. [applause] tonight there are 766 families across the state with loved ones in the south carolina army and air national guard who are serving overseas far from their home. our family shares a special bond with the military families of south carolina, like them, we know the pride of watching our loved ones wear the uniform of the strongest, proudest nation in the world, loving his job. please join me in welcoming my head spin and not scare the south carolina national guard

where teacher at it people, south carolinians. we love our state of another country. we love our men and women who put on that uniform to keep it safe. they are our parents and children, husbands and wives, our mother is from our fathers are siblings, our friends. we are honored to have witnessed the parents of one of his heroes, lance corporal william kyl carpenter from gilbert, who was in afghanistan and is continuing his recovery at walter reid. the prayers of south carolina continue to be with kyl and all of our wounded veterans. mr. and mrs. jim carpenter, thank you for being here. please stand. [applause] tonight there are 766 families across the state with loved ones in the south carolina army and air national guard who are serving overseas far from their home. our family shares a special bond with the military families of south carolina, like them, we know the pride of watching our loved ones wear the uniform of the strongest, proudest nation in the world, loving his job. please join me in welcoming my head spin and not scare the south carolina national guard

we are a patriotic people, south carolinians. we love our state and we love our country and we love our men and women who put on the uniform who keep us safe. they are our parents and our children, our husbands and our wives. our mothers, our fathers, our siblings, our friends. we are honored to have with us the parents of one of those heroes, lance corporal william kyle carpenter from gilbert, who is wounded in afghanistan and is continuing his recovery at walter reed. our prayers continue to be with him and all our veterans. mr. and mrs. jim carpenter, thank you for being here. please stand. [applause] tonight, there are 766 families across the state with loved ones in the south carolina army and air national guard who are keke -- who are deployed and serving overseas far from their homes. our family shares a special bond with the military families of south carolina. like them, we know the pride of watching our loved ones wearing the uniform of the strongest nation on earth, please join me in welcoming my husband, a member of t

south carolinians will anoint the eventual nominee in every election since 1908, the candidate who wins hear gone on to win the republican nomination. on that list, only bob dole did not then go on to win the presidency. mitt romney hopes to continue the palmetto tradition. a new nbc/marist poll out a couple of seconds ago, as a matter of fact, shui shows rom holding a ten-point lead over gingrich in the state of south carolina. romney, 34%. gingrich, 24%, ron paul and rick santorum bunched up behind them. following romney's shaking showing at the fox news debate on monday, and gingrich's perceived strong performance, that poll shows romney dropping 6 points here and gingrich jumping four points, that's predebate versus post debate. tonight, they face off here in charleston in what could be a game changer for the primary. we're also expecting to hear from gingrich's second wife in a network television interview that could shape the opinion of some south carolina voters here. we'll get to all that with mr. heilemann in a moment. first, let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. this thursda

so the image out there with the average south carolinian, now the average south carolinian makes $30,000itt romney said he made an inconsequential amount giving speeches. $400,000. that's not resonating with those folks. he's a richie rich guy. >> he acted like that was not a large sum of money. and it was more than ten times what the average south carolinian makes annually. >> absolutely. >> he acted like it was nothing. let me ask you, chris, when you look at this whole issue with the tax returns and full disclosure, romney said today his financial report is much more telling than his tax returns. last night gingrich at last night's debate said romney shouldn't be holding back handing over his returns. and then willard comes back today telling mr. gingrich to release his ethics report. i mean, these guys are just going at it like -- >> someone said today the brand fight the republican party does not want to have is you release your tax returns. no you release your ethics report. what i think it's about -- >> i think it's wonderful. >> well, sure, from the perspective of the democrats.

and i think that's a decision south carolinians face very seriously, because the more they learn histhey realize, for example, he's pro-gun control. >> if you don't win, given you set that parameter, do you drop out? >> i don't know. i don't want to prejudge anything. >> is it that crucial? >> first of all, i think i'm going to win. the events in the first day here have been remarkable. >> politicians play hypotheticals. >> i am not answering hypotheticals. you can ask 23 ways. i am not answering. my goal is to win on the 21st. if we win on the 21st, we go to florida. it is a brand new game. at that point romney has to confront that when you get outside of, remember, new hampshire is his third best state after utah and massachusetts. so if he only gets 37% in his third best state and he can't win here, then i think you're in a very different nomination process. so this is going to be armagedd armageddon. they will come in here with everything they've got, every surrogate, every ad, every negative attack. at the same time, we're going to be basically drawing sharp contrast between a g

and i think -- and that's a decision south carolinians, i think, are going to face very seriously. because the more they learn his record, the more they realize, for example, he's pro-gun control. >> if you don't win, given you've set that parameter, do you drop out? >> i don't know. i don't want to pre-judge anything. >> if it's that crucial? >> first of all, i think i'm going to win. i think the events we've had so far in our very first day here have been remarkable. >> but i don't know that a politician likes to play hypotheticals -- >> so i'm not going to play hypotheticals. you can ask 23 different ways, i'm not answering. my goal is to win on the 21st. and i think if we win on the 21st, we go to florida, it is a brand-new game. and at that point, romney's got to confront that when you get outside of -- remember, new hampshire is his third best state after utah and massachusetts. so if he only gets 37% in his third best state, and he can't win here, then i think you're in a very different nomination process. this is going to be armageddon. they will come in here with everythin

the american public and floridians, south carolinians they don't like that.i think you saw that rebellion reflected in the vote. they are concerned, though, about the jobs and the future of the country. i was here a couple of days, i picked up the paper yesterday. gas prices up 27%. my state of florida, i still have 10% unemployment, 14% in some of my counties. who is going to make the difference in actually getting people to work and has that experience? you know shall this is no longer that. we're not electing the "american idol." we tried that. we've got it. it's failed to lead. >> are you surprised by the fact that former governor jeb bush is not endorsing anyone? he has said ellen dors whomever and support whomever is the nominee. he's not getting out in front of it at all. >> i respect jeb. you've got lots of endorsements. i think half of the congressional delegation, which is extensive have endorsed mr. romney. we've had great candidates and we had good candidates and they have good positions. but again, we aren't, again picking the most popular guy, t

plus south carolinians are quickly learning what people in iowa and new hampshire already know. >> ihat it's going to be like once we do get down to the wire. >> campaign ads, being fired around the clock. do they really work? do they change undecided voters' minds? that's ahead. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? >>> tonight would a romney romp prove the tea party a one-hit wonder? the gop is a big fan of ronald reagan's 11th commandment. is it ready to complain about the republican candidates who are breaking it? and your moment you may have missed i

. >> apparently south carolinians would rather have the emotional satisfaction of a ?oty remark toward a president than beat obama in in the fall. with newt gingrich you throw out the baby and keep the bath water. >> oh, that's you. >> here is my question for you, anne. i think you are the newt gingrich of book authors. you go to the gut and say what conservatives are thinking. >> you can't -- >> for one thing you are completely wrong that i would even accept this incredible slander. and you would go to the next step. i am not running for president. all we should be thinking about is how do we get votes? how do we get the most independent votes. we don't get it by calling obama a colonialist. and moreover,-- and my point about throwing out the baby and keeping the bath water with newt, you get the grandstanding statement, but when it comes time to do something he has taken 1.6 million from freddy mac and he is attacking the paul ryan plan. you don't get the change policy. you get republicans looking like we make kids on welfare janitors. >> but don't you know those poi

. >> i think south carolinians was the first stated to understand how liberal governor romney he was as governor of massachusetts. he lost probably 15 to 20 points over the course of the two weeks as people realized he was pro-choice, pro gun control, pro tax increase and whole range of areas that despite his advertising and pretending, it's clear he was rough to south carolinians. >> sean: he is responding to his attacks that unleashes ad with newt's involvement with fraem fannie mae and freddie mac. >> newt gingrich was cashed in. gingrich was paid $1.6 million that helped create the crisis. >> a days advertise your tan. >> he resigned from congress in disgrace and then cashed in as a d.c. snyder. if newt wins, this guy would be very sheap. >> sean: joining us is sarah palin. governor, welcome back. >> thank you so much. and fred thompson is going to endorse somebody tonight. give me a hint. that will bring be news. he brings a different demographic. >> sean: i know you haven't gotten to the point of endorsing tonight but maybe i'll go back when we started last week. if you were vo

. >> it doesn't matter to the south carolinians. >> i think it does matter. for one minute he has a moment of strength on the stage that was brilliant. that is a character issue not that we go in private lives, but private lives do matter and character matters in the office and newt gingrich does not. >> you stuck with bill clinton when the character matters. >> i didn't dismiss it, i thought as a president he was -- >> you liked him. >> i really like his wife and i really like him and i was mad at him like everybody else. i didn't think he should be impeached for it >> lady. milady, that is cool. you have that on your card. >> no, i don't use that anymore. you are the one who loves it. >> sir paul. ? my lady. >> you are best with ties like that. >> iris is wrong. seriously she is -- direct as they come. when we come back. it is raining in south carolina and does that affect turn out. not as many people turn out, who does that benefit? [ male a] how do you trade? with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -

we either convince south carolinians to vote for a conservative and unify them around me or, you knowyou see romney probably becoming the nominee. >> very quickly, what do you think of the other competitors? rick santorum, he had the santorum surge, took a bit of a hit in new hampshire, not necessarily surprisingly, is it over for him, continue to see him get track tion. >> governor perry is here, i don't know if huntsman will -- >> are you surprised governor perry is around? >> he is a smart guy, governor the texas, he has the resources, if he wants to stay, he can. the concern is how do we communicate to south carolinians they better pick one conservative, in which case would almost certainly be me, if they want to beat romney. any vote that goes to anybody else is going to be a vote that helps romney win. >> at what point does the party have to rally as you say. has it reached that point? >> the party never has to rally. >> doesn't have to collectively say we're going to have these two duke it out? >> no. >> does it help you have endless candidates carrying on? >> that's not the pa

south carolinians are values voters. they are very concerned with values. just watch the debate's first question. >> as you know your ex-wife gave an interview. in it she said you came to her in 1999 at a time when you were having an affair. she said she asked you, sir, to enter into an open mark. >> jon: go on. >> she says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage. would you like to take some time to respond to that? >> jon: preferably in "letter to pent house" form. hmmm? ( cheers and applause ) i kid. because what comes next, ladies and gentlemen, is the moment when values-voters spozed disgust over the moral perpendicular tud of those in american public life is knocked out cold by their anger at the supposed victimization by the media. >> would you like to take some time to respond to that? >> no, but i will. >> jon: bump-bump-bump. >> i am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like this. i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, to take an ex-wif

the second big theme frankly is one that every south carolinian understands. it is jobs, economic growth, balancing the budget. having stable money. and let's be very clear and again this makes some of the elite media nervous. president obama has been historically the most effective food stamp president in american history. i worked with ronald reagan to create jobs and 16 million jobs were created by the american people in the 1980s. i worked with bill clinton a democrat to create jobs and 11 million jobs were created by the american people during the four years that i was speaker. i would like to be the best pay check president in american history. and i want to go in to every neighbor of every ethnic background of every city of the country and say to people if you want your children to have a life of dependency and food stamps your candidate is barack obama. independence and pay checks your candidate is newt gingrich and i bet you we have votes everywhere. part of jobs in the economy frankly is to shrink the power of washington. i just talked tonight with g

and i believe south carolinians want a positive race. folks, i'm happy to say the definitely-not-coordinated with stephen colbert superback owned by jon stewart agrees. last night they released this ad pleading for civility. >> you can't turn on the tv these days without seeing some negative attack ad, a super pac supporting mitt romney flooded iowa with commercials hammering newt gingrich. newton said, he wanted it to end. so the super pac backing him just dumped millions into ads attacking romney. it's enough to make you sick. [throwing up] americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow knows we deserve better. donate today. an we'll destroy both these guys and their super pacs with the mercilessed a torrent so fierce they'd wish they'd never been incorporated. we'll leave nothing behind. [cheering and applause] americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow were responsible for the content of this advertisement. [applause] >> stephen: powerful stuff. by the way, folks, that sausage is made of jon huntsman. of course, there is one candidate out th

. >> pelley: and a lot of south carolinians don't seem to mind that very much. thanks, jan. we asked bill whitaker to tell us how other candidates propose to stop romney. bill's also in south carolina tonight. bill. >> reporter: scott, with outside political action committees weighing in this, year could be more negative than ever, which is saying a lot for south carolina. labeling romney a corporate raider who shut factories and sent jobs overseas as head of bain capital from 1984 to 1999. it's one of the most profitable private equity investment firms in the country. >> and that hurt so bad to leave my home because of one man that's got 15 homes. >> as his record is better and better known, i think he will grow weaker and weaker very fast. >> reporter: while the negative advertising may rankle many republicans across the country, party members here simply say welcome to south carolina. wesley donehue is a much-in-demand political consultant in columbia born and raised in the state. >> we're hot heads here, a little bit of red necks in us. >> reporter: donehue earned a name

south carolinians like that. of retired folks and snowbirds in south carolina. >> my sense was this, don't americans just like a politician standing up going, no! and taking on his critics, his enemies, his ex-wives, whoever it may be? they like this pugnacious style that newt gingrich has and they don't really like the fact that mitt romney is always the same paced, even tempered guy, smooth, slick businessman who may be completely detached from their world. >> i wouldn't call mitt smooth or slick. i think he's a nice guy and i think people try to make him more than just the nice guy. he needs to just be mitt, and i think he is that earnest guy who's just going to be honest. an he needs to draw attention to the fact that newt gingrich is a master of government. he's the former speaker of the house. the south carolinians i think really liked the fact that newt said, you know, i messed up, i'm sorry. i've talked to my crater and i really wanted to move on. people like that. i think americans want to forgi forgive.

that line of attack cost him the support of a prominent investor and south carolinian who likened it to hearing fingernails on the black board. he switched his support to mitt romney. jon huntsman is still slugging away. >> when you have that candidate who talks about enjoyment in firing about people. who talks about pink slips, who makes comments that seem to be so detached from the problems that americans are facing today, that makes you pretty much unelectable. >> that's governor huntsman. keeping them honest. so just a day ago at the university of south carolina, he was urging his fellow republicans to lay off bain capital and job cuts. he was quoted in the "washington post" as saying, if you had creative destruction in capitalism, which has always been a part of capitalism, it becomes disingenuous to take on bain capital. and the next day he does. speaker gingrich, meantime was defending himself on fox today, as well. >> that's not an issue about the whole capitalist system. that is a question about a particular style of activity involving a very -- we're not talking about the s