that was craig berman speaking at a voter focus before he took the job. he's hired as the gingrich iowa political director. cnn's making calls to see if he'll be allowed to keep the job. >>> as we continue our weeklong iowa visit, a condition who has tirelessly visited each of iowa's 99 counties yet is struggling in the polls. iowa could end rick santorum's campaign but he predicts otherwise. >> i feel very good that we're going to surprise a lot of people. most folks are thinking we're at the back of the pack. we're not going to be at the back of the pack. we're going to do very, very well. >> the iowa campaign is different this time around. fewer candidate visit, not not tv ads. some veteran activists here more than a little nervous. >> i think it is the nature of campaigning and this year we've seen something that we haven't seen in past years. we've seen debate performances that have captured the imagination of the american people. >> now whether iowa's unique role is endangers we'll get to that in a moment. let's begin by getting you up to speed on t