david muir with the romney campaign. >>> let's go to jake tapper. he's live at the headquarters of rick santorum, who battled for fourth. i want you to put on the hat as our senior abc news white house correspondent. you can hear mitt romney in his acceptance -- i'm jumping the gun here. in his victory speech there, targeting barack obama. saying, i'm running against this guy. claiming the mantle of the republican front-runner. what did the white house hear? what do they want to think about? >> reporter: first of all, mitt romney, for months now, has been running a general election campaign quite often. you hear him say things in his remarks that are almost directly aimed at those independents, moderates, liberal republicans, who voted for obama, who are having misgivings about it. you heard him say in his speech tonight, four years ago, obama came to new hampshire, a state he won handily, to prove to the nation, the days of lofty promises and a hopeful candidate. now, we have a disappointing record and a failed president. he is giving permission fo

as abc's david muir reports, with the romney campaign tonight. >> reporter: mitt romney returning to his own backyard tonight, basking in the glow of a sizable lead, heading into the new hampshire primary. what is also growing tonight, the incoming fire. all of romney's opponents know this is their shot to chip away at romney's lead. today, newt gingrich taking aim with carefully chosen words he hopes will rile up social conservatives. >> there's a point where you just have to say to somebody, get real. he is a massachusetts rod moderate. >> reporter: and on "good morning america," gingrich safing, if it is mitt romney in the end -- >> imagine him debating obama. obama is going to laugh at him. >> reporter: romney's return to new hampshire after a swing to south carolina, confident enough in new hampshire to leave the state. a south carolina win could put him on the fast track to the nomination. and even where social conservatives play a huge role, a new poll shows romney in the lead in south carolina, as well. he remains focused on the economy. just minutes after the improving job n

diane, back to you. >> our thanks to david muir with the romney campaign. and as you heard, his rivals, including senator rick santorum, are doubling down tonight, trying to prove that mitt romney is not an unstoppable force. abc's jake tapper spoke with santorum today. >> reporter: when rick santorum makes this pitch to new hampshire voters, comparing himself to ronald reagan, who won the new hampshire primary in 1980, he does not mention mitt romney's name. >> new hampshire knew what america needed and was a contrast, was bold colors, not pale pastels. >> reporter: but it's romney who he's talking about. give me one example where you're bold, in a policy way, where you're bold and mitt romney is a pale pastel. >> well, health care. in the case of governor romney, obviously, there is a convoluted record that, you know, you have to be a yoga instructor to be able to convince people that it's straight. >> reporter: and as he makes his way from unknown, unsupported candidate on the outskirts of the debate stage to major player, center stage? santorum faces an

who knows what's coming next. >> david muir and jake tapper, as well. time to bring in "good morning america" anchor george stephanopoulos and anchor of "this week." george, great to see you tonight. >> good to be back. >> we are here. what a year we've been through, huh? and 24 hours to go. what's the big lesson. >> diane, iowa always brings surprises but never so many before the first votes. look at what's happened in the last several months. just about every candidate has had the lead in iowa at one time or another. yet at the end the iowa voters seem boyced to come back. the establishment candidate with the big organization who's got the money and has run before and that is mitt romney poised to put him in a commanding position for this nomination. >> seven different front-runners since may. >> just been unbelievable. >> so can anybody stop romney at this point? >> you never say never. there have been so many surprises but looks so hard because what iowa seems poised to do, as well, is knock out the two candidates who had the best chance to have kin

abc's david muir is in bedford, new hampshire, with the romney camp tonight. david. >> reporter: diane, good evening. mitt romney is getting grilled over his own words in the last 24 hours. at one point telling the audience he understands what it feels like to worry about losing your job. at another rally today saying he likes being able to fire people. his team saying these words are being taken out of context but his opponents already running with it. he is a front-runner under fire tonight, not because of one thing he said but because of two lines in the last 24 hours. this evening, his opponents are pouncing. first, in talking about the economy, the multimillionaire candidate telling an audience he knows what it's like to fear losing your job. >> i know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. there were a couple of times i wondered whether i was going to get a pink slip. >> reporter: and then today romney talking about firing people. while making the case americans should be able to choose their own health insurance, to drop a company if

abc's david muir is here right now. david? >> diane, great to see you. that's the central question set out to answer tonight. how much growth is needed before the real hiring begins? tonight, we return to the factories we've been reporting on for more than a year now. but the reality on the american assembly line. >> reporter: it is the fastest rate of economic growth in this country in 18 months. >> it is the strongest number we've seen all year long for 2011. >> reporter: so, why all of the sudden the jump start? economists say a huge part of this, car parts built in america. parts that usually come from overseas, largely japan. and after that natural disaster last year, america picked up the slack. something we saw on this assembly line in kansas city. >> tennessee. >> reporter: the door? >> it comes from chicago. >> reporter: the question is -- will that level of u.s. production continue into the new year, even as japan recovers? the good news, 34,000 manufacturing jobs added to the economy in the last quarter. consumers, increasing their spending by

david muir reporting in. thank you, david. i want to bring in co-anchor of "good morning america," george stephanopoulos. give us the big picture, george. how did newt gingrich fire up the afterburners again? >> it was incredible. it all happened in these debates. he showed he can take on the media, take on obama, and it created the massive shift. that key number that david was talking about. who can beat obama? all year long, that has been romney's big advantage. almost 30 points in iowa. it blew to a more than 50-point advantage in new hampshire and, then, look at this reversal, complete flip. now newt gingrich has that advantage on electability, who can beat obama. a lot of the voters in south carolina said they saw him take the other people on, he can take the fight to the president. >> so the president, the debates, one-two punch? one-two-three punch? >> and the media as well. i talked to several top republican strategists today. most of these people do not want newt gingrich to be the nominee but for the first time they'

and abc's david muir spent the day with him. david? >> reporter: in fact, diane, governor romney's on the stage behind me tonight. the bruising battle is already under way here in south carolina. his republican opponents, with blistering ads, attacking his business record. this was thought to be the battle plan planned to use by president obama in the coming months. the big question tonight and in the presidential race overall, are some of his republican opponents inadvertently helping mr. obama? with republicans looking to stop mitt romney, this is where they have to do it, south carolina. more blue-collar than iowa and new hampshire. and more conservative. and more worried about jobs. unemployment, over 10%. that's why opponents are pounding romney's resume. the years he spent buying up companies and selling them at huge profits. sometimes creating jobs. but often, slashing them. one of the superbacks supporting newt gingrich, spending $3 million to get the documentary out there. with images of romney getting his shoes shined on the

abc's david muir is here right now. david? >> diane, great to see you. that's the central question we set out to answer tonight. we learned today, that new number, encouraging growth. but how much growth is needed before the real hiring begins? tonight, we return to the factories we've been reporting on for more than a year now. the reality of the american assembly line. it is the fastest rate of economic growth in this country in 18 months. >> it is the strongest number that we've seen all year long for 2011. the year ended on a high point. >> reporter: just tonight we learned, next week, chrysler will announce it's hiring 1,600 workers at an assembly plant. so, why all of the sudden the jump-start? economists say a huge part of this, car parts built in america. parts that usually come from overseas, largely japan. and after that natural disaster last year, america picked up the slack. something we saw on this ford assembly line in kansas city. the glass here? where is that from? >> tennessee. >> reporter: the door? >> it comes from chicago. >> reporter

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i've been a big fan of the show, jeremy, ryan owens, anderson cooper, david muir going way back. birthday. of course that means just one more year and you will be legal. >> "world news now," happy, happy birthday. i am not that proud to say that all of my most embarrassing, live television moments have been in the wee hours filling in on that show when my brain was half dead. i will say that now, and 20 years from now, i am still not going to reveal my mysterious body piercing. >> so, million years ago, you can see i was a complete goof ball, anchoring wgn morning news in chicago. after the alarm would go off at 3:30 a.m. i would fumble through the darkness, get dressed and watch "world news now" with juju chang and anderson cooper. never dreaming that we would end up as "nightline"" compatriots. >> he is still a goof ball. i don't know what happened to anderson cooper. >> probably doing local news in the midwest. >> too bad. anyway, i still have "world news now" in my heart. i just still have barry mitchell's polka on my ring tone. ♪ foreign wars, all the weather all the scores

we're going to hear from abc's david muir with the romney camp. jon karl with the huntsman camp.nd david muir, tell us the latest on the romney camp tonight. >> reporter: i have to tell you, the romney campaign is feeling very good about this evening. governor romney, just a short time ago, going to see "mission impossible." although, he feels new hampshire is very possible. the question this evening is just how big the margin of victory will be. i like being able to fire people. he was talking about health insurance companies. and americans being able to get rid of them if they're not happy with them. but i wanted to show you an image today. one image, two stories tonight. the governor and his wife, holding a baby. very much an image you'd expect from the front-runner. but if you rewind the tape and play the sound -- >> are you going to fire the baby? are you going to fire the baby? >> reporter: those shouts there, are you going to fire the baby? these are words that are going to follow mitt romney beyond new hampshire into south carolina. and the bigger question is, how the wor

and david muir is at romney headquarters for the rousing response there tonight. david?> reporter: they are alternating mitt and their applause here. a huge win for mitt romney here in new hampshire. making history after winning iowa by just eight votes. now, new hampshire after, the first nonincumbent to do that. his son, and his tagg, matt, and craig up there behind him. tonight, he has made history. here's what the governor said just moments ago. >> this state has always been a very special place for our family. ann and i made a home here. we filled with great memories of our children, our grandchildren. the granite state moment is one that we'll always remember. we have our five sons behind us. and our daughters and family here. tonight, we celebrate. tomorrow, we go back to work. >> reporter: tomorrow, they go back to work, talking about south carolina. the campaign, telling me tonight, they are ecstatic about this win. they did quite well. and as you know, diane, the last 24 hours, mitt romney got under scrutiny, saying he likes to be able to fire people. talking a

and today, abc's david muir talked to one of the most powerful evangelicals, franklin graham, son of the reverend billy graham. david? >> reporter: diane, great to see you. and as you know, we learned tonight, mitt romney's campaign will make its case before that huge group of christian conservatives. the campaign telling me they're sending someone to convince evangelical leaders that romney, a mormon, will stand up for the same social issues they want in november. and today, powerful clues from the reverend billy graham's son, franklin. with just a week, now, before the crucial south carolina primary, more than 100 conservative christians, evangelicals, will gather in texas. where one influential reverend said this about the presidential field, evangelicals, come november, might have to hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils. today, we asked the reverend franklin graham, if he agreed with that. >> that may be true. >> reporter: what conservative christians are not convinced of is who will represent their views on abortion and their opposition to gay rights. in south ca

thank you, david muir. and jake tapper spent the day with that revved up dark horse, the man who seemed to have a lot of momentum heading into tonight, rick santorum, hoping to pull off the big upset. what's happening now, jake? >> reporter: well, the campaign manager came out just a few minutes ago to talk to reporters and dampen down expectations, a little reality check, a reminder that any expectation rick santorum might win this is incredibly new. take a look at the pictures, diane. two weeks ago, here is santorum speaking at a pizza restaurant, to a very small crowd. not many people interested. then here's him speaking to a much, much bigger crowd yesterday. and then, of course, earlier today, he was mobbed by a scrum of reporters, almost as if they were pursuing a member of the kardashian family. this has been a very quick rise for rick santorum. so, the idea that he might win this has been surprising. so, they are trying to dampen down expectations. the question, can he expand his appeal to beyond th

david muir here this weekend. so glad you were with us this week. good night.

did not want to compete in for much of the year but he threw everything into it at the end and david muir is in iowa at the romney headquarters right now. david? >> reporter: he certainly did in the end here, terry. great to be here with you in iowa. and as you know, mitt romney is here at romney headquarters tonight, along with ann and four of the five sons. they were trying to get the undecided onto their side and one of the sons tweeted out a photo of the war room. you can see the son there by the wall. i can tell you, a senior strategist told me tonight they feel very good about these numbers. and they've been saying this all day. if they can simply tie santorum or ron paul, they could consider this a victory. here is why. this is the spin you'll hear tomorrow morning, is that in taking the long view, they are not concerned about santorum and paul as candidates up against romney. they are looking forward to new hampshire. romney's own backyard. this campaign knows come tomorrow morning, they are going to have significant questions. the number he's garnered here tonight is not that dif

make sure to watch "world news" with david muir later this evening.a argen. >> dry this morning because the bulk of rain moved through while you were sleeping. we have cloudy skies but live doppler 7 in the north bay showing rain up toward santa rosa and windsor and further to the east, 580 around hayward, moving out of sample and dublin a light shower and smattering of showers down around los gatos to around ben lomond where they picked up 6 inches. it was common inch to two inches from oakland to san francisco. still gusty winds at the airport. concord and livermore, temperatures are quite mild right now. 50s out there. today we are in between citizens. we'll look for light showers, leftover showers and cloudy afternoon. cloudy overnight. next storm system is slated to move on in by tomorrow morning. in fact we're talking about light rain in the morning. scattered light rain in the afternoon and it will pick up in the evening hours for the game tomorrow should be wet. heaviest rain into monday morning and after that, it's all over. we're sunny and d

here's abc's anchor david muir. [ barking ] >> reporter: one of the first big changes here, the superads coming out long before the game begins. the minutes-long teaser of a canine chorus for the darth vader theme. and skechers opening to run away with the ad get condition even before the game. the second biggest change in ads this year, many of them will be much launch. there's a one-minute ad from audi celebrating its highlight technology. somewhat bad news if you're a vampire. and lastly, the ads this year will try to reach out to your technology. it's estimated 60% of viewers will have a screen right in their hand. shirr ma their smartphone. viewers can hold their smartphones right up to the tv it will take it right to the smartphone's website. >> it will get anything you want. give me more doritos. >> reporter: and doritos hopes to cash in on that. and the iphone siri. >> send me three hot wild -- ls. >> no, hot girls. >> we all have that trouble, too. i do look -- love that commercial, too. actually put this question up on our facebook page as well. folks have pretty interesting

at the end of the day, a win is a win and david muir has been covering his campaign. >> terry, good eveninga short time ago governor mitt romney came onto the stage with his wife ann, four of his sons, and he thanked his supporters in this crowd. they would have liked to have a decisive victory in iowa this time around but they consider this a victory nonetheless. here's what he said about rick santorum and about the numbers tonight a short time ago. >> congratulations to rick santorum. this has been a great victory for him and his effort. he's worked very hard in iowa. we also feel it's been a great victory for us here. and ron paul as well. ron paul's had a great night. this has been terrific. i think it's great that here in the heartland of america, that a campaign begins, all three of us will be campaigning very hard to make sure we restore the heart and soul of the entire nation. and thank you, iowa, for the great send-off you're giving to us and to the others in this campaign. look, this is a -- this is a campaign night where america wins. we're going to change the white house and get

david muir, abc news, new york.

abc's david muir is in florida. he says romney is not letting up tonight. david. >> reporter: diane, good evening to you. fueled by those new poll numbers, we flew with governor romney today. he sensed a week and a half ago south carolina was not going to go his way. if that's the case come tomorrow, you could point to an aggressive switch in strategy. tonight, this fight in florida is far different. just weeks ago, it was not uncommon romney would deliver an entire stump speech without mentioning these two words, newt gingrich. today, romney walked on to the stage and we counted, just 33 seconds before romney took aim. >> speaker gingrich wasn't very happy with the debates though. he said after the first debate he didn't do well because the crowd was so quiet. >> reporter: and then late today outside tampa, 44 seconds in. >> speaker gingrich, he's not feeling very excited these days. i know, it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit. >> reporter: to give you an idea of what it's like for anyone watching tv in florida, in jacksonville, just today, during the

abc's anchor, david muir, has been with him today. david? >> reporter: diane, make no mistake about it. this is a huge night for mitt romney. a chance for him, finally, to close the deal here in iowa, to rewrite the headlines of four years ago, that disappointing ross back then. he appeared very confident and acknowledged he's near the top of the pack. he was very careful not to say he's at the top. i wanted to show you a moment that happened today. janine wilson, she said she can barely find work, her husband is out of work, they have no health care. she said, if he's elected, here was her plea to governor romney. >> please, if you win, if you go to washington, d.c. -- >> a very personal moment there this morning here in des moines. the governor telling her that's why he's best suited to be president. creating jobs if he's elected. i should point out that romney is here with his family, awaiting the results here tonight. and they tell me he's preparing for saturday night's abc news debate. >> okay, david, thanks to you. and now let us turn

and abc's david muir spent the day with the romney campaign, reporting in from orlando, florida, tonight. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. for the first time in a month, in the daily gallup tracking poll, newt gingrich is inching ahead of mitt romney. and from mitt romney tonight, something we haven't seen before. not in his race for senate. not in his race for governor. as you said, diane, we are seeing his tax returns. >> too many factory floors are silent. >> reporter: as mitt romney spoke from a hollowed factory where blue-collar workers once made their living, today, a brand-new view of how mitt romney makes his. that 2010 tax return and the estimate for 2011, showing romney earned more than $42 million over two years solely from investments. romney did not have a job. paying about $6.2 million in taxes over the two years. his tax rate? in 2010, about 13.9%, perfectly legal under the current tax code. which allows americans to pay a much lower rate, a capital gains tax, when their earnings come from investments, and not a job. >> if he were a doctor or lawyer with the same s

abc's david muir has it all. and he's here right now. david? >> reporter: great to see you, diane. this was an unthinkable headline, just two years ago. but general motors, as diane mentioned, is back on top. as the world's top-selling automaker, gm is making money again. in every corner of the globe, from north america to europe, from south america to asia, sales of general motors cars and trucks are up. more than $7 billion in profits. final figures are expected to rise. 640,000 more cars and trucks sold last year than the year before. ♪ see the usa in your chevrolet ♪ >> reporter: it was hardly the journey dinah shore once dreamed of. a grueling road back after gm's 2009 bankruptcy and taxpayer rescue. gm has now paid back nearly half of that. >> it's clearly a comeback story. and one of the notable aspects of it is that they've been able to achieve this sales success not using the incentives that they might have used in years past. >> reporter: without those incentives or rebates, he adds, gm had to win with quality. and tonight, brand-new signs of ford's turnaround, too. ♪ hav

>>> from abc news, this is abc "world news" with david muir. >> good evening on this sunday night. for more than a year gabby giffords has inspired us all with our courage and determination and this evening it's on display again. today in a moving video she broke the news to her constituents she will be stepping down from congress to focus on her recovery and so we begin tonight here with gabrielle giffords in her own words, that halting message we saw today. >> arizona is my home. always will be. a lot has happened over the past year. we cannot change that, but i know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. we can do so much more by working together. i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me, to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. i have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. >> gabrielle giffords' decision to resign comes after an extraordinary journey back. six were killed. there was the national vigil h

." >>> now, let's head straight back to new york and david muir, who has the other big news of the daydavid? >> all right, diane. thank you. we'll all be watching "nightline" later tonight. >>> in the meantime this evening, a lot of other news to get to. beginning with the men who want to replace the president. explosive words, today, from inside the republican party, about newt gingrich. is his own party growing worried over a newt nomination? who spoke out? it's "your voice, your vote" tonight. and abc's jon karl is on the trail. >> reporter: greeted by another huge crowd in florida, newt gingrich was also met by a backlash of the accomplishment. exhibit "a," bob dole, who was leader of the senate when gingrich was speaker of the house. wrote today, gingrich had an idea every minute. and most of them were off the wall. >> this is the desperate last stand of the old order, throwing the kitchen sink, hoping something sticks. >> reporter: romney, meanwhile, in a state where latino voters are crucial, had to answer a question on spanish language television. >> it's between $150 million a

team has been out in force all day taking us behind the scenes talking to the candidates and abc's david muir starts us off from romney headquarters tonight, david? >> reporter: good evening, diane, from tampa. two staggering figures for you when it comes to the television ads that have played in florida over the last week. the romney team and his allies have spent $15 million on those ads and when independent analysts looked at them, the other staggering number. of all of the ads one the romney team ran was positive and that ad was in spanish. if he do have a commanding lead many will say it worked and asked the governor about that today. you and your allies vastly outspent gingrich and his. there are some who say if there is a huge victory for you in florida it's due in large part to that negative tone in the campaign. >> in south carolina we were vastly outspent with negative ads aing thatting me and stood back and spoke about president obama and suffered the consequence of that, plus also i think some good debates from speaker gingrich. we came to florida and speaker gingrich didn't have