red cross volunteers are trying to reconnect 150,000 children with their parents. >>> franklin graham often travels to the south to bring aid and supplies from samaritans purse. i talked to him about the challenges of this recently formed nation. >> why have you called for a no-fly zone over the skies of south sudan? >> north is using its air power to do ethnic cleansing. forcing the civilians to leave. >> do you fear a war could break out? >> yes. i believe it is going to break out. they don't want war. it is one of these situations, one guy throws a rock, other guy throws twa back. it i believe it can be resolved and worked out and see peace come to that area. you have to have somebody who is willing to take the leadership for peace. i think president obama has an excellent opportunity to bring all these sides together and hammer out a peace accord. i don't think any one of them wants war per se. >> is a no fly zone sufficient? do we need to put perhaps the u.n. in the south or commit u.s. troops? >> no, no. just take away their air assets and i think the fighting is going to grind

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 carolina, this ad on abortion, from the super pac supporting rick santorum. >> the principle conservative who has never wavered in the rights of the unborn. >> reporter: the newt gingrich ad, targeting romney. >> what happened after massachusetts moderate, mitt romney changed his position from pro-abortion? >> reporter: does that bother you? does it concern you? >> no. i think in life, we do change our positions. and our views do evolve. ro

joining us tonight, the reverend franklin graham.you're an evangelical, a born again christian, you're torn tonight. you look at governor romney and you think maybe this guy is a stronger, more electable candidate against president obama, how would you counsel them? what would you do? >> well, first, we're voting not for the pastor in chief of the united states. we're voting for the commander-in-chief. i think we have to look at the man, or the woman who can best represent our nation, who can lead us economically, militarily. the foreign policy, these things are all very crucial. very important. and yes, religion is a part of it. it has been a part of process since the beginning of our nation. a lot of people will vote for someone who they feel is the strongest candidate, as concerns their faith. but i believe we should be for the most qualified person, and we ought to go with that. >> there are some ministers who would say the values should be front and center. pat robertson campaigned in iowa. put the vote on the map. it has been a

now there you have franklin graham who is pretty far right politically.et's put that on the table. suggesting that mormons are not christians in the very statement he just made there. so he's, obviously, stirring up the pot there. right, congressman? that's not a helpful quote if you are romney. >> and respectfully, i don't know reverend graham, but he's certainly not from south carolina, not active in south carolina politics. look back to 2008, mitt romney got the endorsement of bob jones iii, a noted evangelical in our state. didn't help very much. he finished fourth or fifth in 2008. i think religion is an issue for folks who aren't from around here. we're going to pick our candidate based upon jobs and the economy, primarily and conservative values after that. >> well, let me ask mark halperin. is there any way of looking at this objectively at this point whether religion will cut down there, whether we should even be talking about it? >> i think it's similar to what race was for president obama in some states in 2008. are there people that won't vote

david muir asked franklin graham. >> yes, given time, i believe so. we share many common values, and i think that's what is important. >> reporter: while santorum got the endorsement. they may not convert into contributions for his campaign, while romney's lead may be slipping a little in south carolina, according to the polls t-is newt gingrich challenging the front-runner tonight not santorum. david. one week to go in south carolina, david kerley in washington. thanks. you might have caught that campaign announcement from steven colbert. >> i'm forming an exploratory commit me to lay the ground work for my possible candidacy for the president of the united states of south carolina! i'm doing it. >> steven colbert teasing 2012 ambitions and drawing huge attention to superpacs, without voters knowing who is behind them. george will have him on his program. george stephanopoulos asking colbert questions, george and stephen tomorrow morning. we'll be watching. >>> we'll move this evening, and overseas to a bloody day in iraq. at least 53 people were kil

there's people like franklin graham who came forward that people of south carolina, evangelicals and christians will have a hard time voting for a mormon. >> that may be. that's a shame if that's the case. i think somebody's religion should have nothing to do with anything. the evangelical base is fractured. you have rick santorum and newt gingrich. both are catholic, by the way, not evangelical christians. as a result of that, mitt stands to benefit because the republicans can't coalesce against one romney alternative. that's to romney's benefit that perry stays in and newt stays in. the longer they stay in, the better it is for romney. >> talk about key endorsements. this is what the people of south carolina say is key when they talk about who is going to endorse who. jim demint isn't endorsing anybody yet. lindsay graham means a lot. but niki haley firmly in romney's court not helping more than mark sanford john mccain. >> that same poll talked about turning people off. this is ppp out of raleigh/durham area and they nailed the gubernatorial race in south carolina last time around

i guess the question comes back franklin graham by the way, son of billy graham oig, told the morningdifficult for romney as a mormon with the evangelical community for most christians, mormonism is an issue and he has a hurdle that he'll have to jump over. he's pretty far right politically. suggesting that morgan mons are christians. so he's stirring up the pot, that's not a helpful quote if you're romney. >> and respectfully, he's not from south carolina. look back to 2008, mitt romney got the endorsement of bob jones iii, a noted evangelical in our state. didn't help very much. i think he finished fourth or fifth. so again, i think religion is an issue for folks who aren't around here. we'll pick our candidate based on jobs preliminarily and conservative jobs after that. >> mark, is there any way of looking that the objectively whether religion will cut down there, whether we should even be talking about it? >> i think it's vsimilar to wha race was for president obama in some states. are there some who won't vote for romney's religion? i appreciate his optimism, but i expect there

i was struck by something from reverend franklin graham. he said you might have trouble with the community because of your mormon faith. he described it as a hurdle for you to cross. >> we have been meeting with church leaders over the years. we'll continue to do that. in the vote last night, i won among evangelicals, tea party members, very conservative and conservative voters. hopefully,ky translate some of that support to south carolina as well. i know i have an uphill battle. i'll keep working hard. >> can any of your opponents mount a national campaign? >> i think so. rick perry has put together a substantial financial team. newt gingrich has some backers. i don't expeekt people to fall by the wayside for lack of funds. i expect them to fall by the wayside eventually because of lack of voters. >> are you canonfident you'll b the nominee? >> i don't want to be overconfident. i will do everything i can to be the nominee. it's essential to have a record of credibility on the economy. the economy is what i know. it's what i have done all m

i was struck by something from reverend franklin graham. he said in "the new york times" this morning, he said you might have some difficulty with the evangelical community because of your mormon faith. he described it as a hurdle for you to clear and advice that you meet with church leaders. how are you going to address that? >> i've been very pleased, that over the years, we have been meeting with church leaders. we'll continue to do that. in the vote last night, i won among evangelicals, tea party members, very conservative and conservative voters. so, the proof is in the results so far. hopefully, i can translate some of that support to south carolina, as well. i know i have an uphill battle. i'll keep working hard. and hopefully pull out another victory. >> can any of your opponents mount a national campaign? >> i think so. rick perry has put together a substantial financial team. has been able to carry that forward over these last few contests. you know, i think newt gingrich will be able to raise more money. he's already had some bac

. >> shannon: the reverend franklin graham.uch for your time today, sir. >> thank you, shannon. god bless you. >> shannon: our special election coverage continues this weekend. tonight, bret baier hosts a live special report at 6:00 eastern. then at 8:00 eastern megyn kelly joins him as well live from new hampshire. >>> in tucson, arizona, congresswoman gabby giffords and many others marking the date. >> more of my exclusive interview with congresswoman gabrielle giffords husband when america's news headquarters continues, next. [ male announcer ] capri sun has 25% less sugar than leading regar juice drinks. because less sugar is a better way to fly. ♪ just not literally. capri sun. respect what's in the pouch. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbe