also, jim wolf, correspondent with readers. jim wolf, go ahead. >> there have been reports that israel asked the united states for arms that could help with an attack on iran's nuclear sites. can you confirm there were such requests? >> i cannot. i would not be surprised but i do not know that there was such a request. >> would you think of that as a possible quid pro quo to of leverage to the request to israel to hold off? united states would fire the weapons in exchange for israeli willingness to hold off on a strike? >> i think the best way to formulate this is to say what the president has said and what the israelis have said is what all options are on the table. the israelis say they may be exercised earlier than the united states. as for the. " ", i would not even know how to get into that kind of redress for the quid pro quo, i would not even know how to get into that. i think there is more time to put pressure on iran then israel thinks. >> would you find it appropriate for the human states in the united states to provi

jim wolf. i mean, you wrote about it. how -- what did he say today? >> well, the bottom line was that he is open to the possibility, he said, of sharing a narrow band of classified information in order to work out a missile defense cooperation deal with russia. that's significant. the russians and the americans are at odds over this. the russians are talking about taking countermeasures including deploying missiles. and i think that his support for the administration's willingness to discuss such possible sharing arrangement is significant. >> and this dates back to the bush administration. >> yes, that's apparently the case. the bush administration as well was going down this path. >> right. afghanistan. what did you hear real quickly? >> well, right now, the plan is to remove the surge forces 33,000 by the end of the summer. october 1 time frame. and he mentioned that he thought commanders on the ground would not want to remove the remaining forces between then and 2014 as quickly as the white house would like. setting up some form of tension betwee

jim? >> wolf, signs of confidence from the romney campaign. i can tell you that this evening.a few moments before mitt romney addressed this crowd in cincinnati earlier this evening. he handed the microphone over to his wife ann who told his wife they were feeling confident about what's happening in washington state. that's not something the candidate's wife does when there might be a razor-thin margin. that is one sign that they're feeling pretty good about. then also, we saw mitt romney who sort of returned to a pattern that we've seen in the past when they've been feeling good before a big contest. he did not talk a lot about rick santorum today. he really went after president obama. at one point at an event earlier today, wolf, mitt romney asked how president obama can sleep at night with all of the turmoil that is now going on in afghanistan and a few moments ago, inside this room here in cincinnati, he talked about the president's economic record, saying it's time to collect from the president. here's what he had to say. >> the president back as candidate obama, he said

he's interviewed by jim wolf of reuters and jim michaels of u.s.a. today. >> congratulations to all this year's winners of c-span's student cam video documentary video competition. a record number entered a video on the theme the constitution and you. showing which part of the constitution is important to them and why. watch all the winning videos at our website and join us mornings in april when we show the top 27 videos on c-span and we'll talk with the winners. >> earlier this week, china's commerce minister discussed the trade administration. last thursday, the u.s. house approved a measure allowing the commerce department to impose higher duties on goods from chinas. this portion is a little more than an hour. i would like to consult the minister for your views as well as the views of the ministry of commerce. if that's going to be the case will the ministry employ any counter measures? the second question is there are some opinions according to which the economic reform here in china is not deep enough. i want to know your comments minister of

wolf? >> jim, thanks very much. jim will be busy tomorrow.ay. at 12:00 noon eastern, cnn's political team and i will host the cnn election roundtable. a live insider chat about the big day's implications for the presidential race. that's cnn.com/roundtable. noon eastern tomorrow. >>> backlash and fury from muslim students saying the government is spying on them. is the government surveillance program going too far? both sides of the argument coming up. >>> and a heart-breaking story from indiana. hear from the man who tried to save an entire family from a deadly tornado. >> i called them over to my house and they died. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america

it's really all about the delegates at this point, wolf. >> jim, thanks very much. jim acosta in washington. >>> so what's rick santorum's strategy headed towards super tuesday? our senior correspondent, joe johns, is following this part of the story for us. give us a little insight, joe. what is santorum's strategy? what is he realistically looking forward to? >> reporter: well, i think if you just look at the path, wolf, that he's taken across this country, especially since the arizona and michigan primaries, it tells you a whole lot. he went out to the southeast straight from michigan to knoxville, tennessee. he thinks tennessee is strong for him because he calls it a conservative state. went from there, worked georgia very hard, then took the huge leap all the way across the country to washington state to try to campaign there a little bit in advance of the washington state caucuses. back across the country again here to ohio. and like mitt romney, ohio is just critical for this former senator, rick santorum, for a lot of reasons. it's a battleground state in th

wolf? >> jim acosta, thank you. what have we learned from the super tuesday results? let's discuss with gloria borger. he won the most states, got the most delegates, but still has certain problems with certain segments of the republican base. >> when you talk to folks on the romney campaign last night, they were feeling great about their win in ohio, even though at the jeffs bi1%, but the win also continued to raise a lot of nagging questions about mitt romney's appeal. let's take -- take a look at the income, 50,000 to 100,000, blue collar republican voters. look at the margin, 11 points between rick santorum and mitt romney. that's a problem for mitt romney. also, let's take a look at very conservative voters in the state of ohio. here you have an even larger 18-point margin. is the problem with mitt romney is that the republican party has changed. it's not even the party he ran on in 2008. it's a more pop you list party, a more insurgent population. and the establishment republican candidates is not the person they were really looking for this time around. >> romn

jim wolf, you wrote about it. what did he say today? >> the bottom line is he is open to the possibilities of sharing in our band -- sharing a narrow band of classified information to work out a missile defense cooperation deal with russia. the russians and americans are at odds over this. they're talking about taking countermeasures including deploying missiles. his support for the id ministrations willingness to discuss this possible sharing arrangement is significant. >> kendis dates back to the bush should ministration? "that's apparently the case. >> afghanistan. what did you hear, quickly? >> the plan is to remove the surge forces. he mentioned that he thought commanders on the ground would not want to remove remaining forces between then and 2014 as quickly of the white house would like setting up some tension between the two sites. >> and the number? >> post 5 in 2014 overall combat forces, 5000 type and 10,000 troops. anything yet, but i think that's impo for understanding that support trip. >> thank you both. [captioning perfo

jim? >> reporter: wolf, ohio mike the marquee state in the super tuesday states up for grabs, but you wouldn't know it. none of the candidates were out in the state looking for votes, but rick santorum will be in steubenville, ohio later tonight with the hope that mitt romney's past will finally catch up with him. >> i'm sorry my super tuesday travel schedule prevents me from being with you in person. >> and the -- mitt romney appeared via satellite before a conference staysed bied pro-israeli lobby aipac, slamming the president's record. >> hope is not a foreign policy. >> reporter: not to be outdowned rick went in person. >> if they do notary down the facilities, we will tear them down ourselves. >> reporter: while the candidates were off the trail, the ads did some trash talking for them. >> mitt romney -- >> reporter: and no surprise, in the air war over the super tuesday battleground of hawaii, romney has a clear advance. >> would you have voted to let convicted violatant felons regain the right to vote? >> reporter: according to estimates from ad tracker pro-santorum and pro-gingrich pac

jim? >> reporter: wolf, railroad following rick santorum.s race for the gop nomination. rick santorum was defeated pretty soundly in some of the other territories that have weighed in so that explains weyrich santorum is here. i had a chance to catch up with him to talk about how he's feeling after the big victories in mississippi and alabama, and also about this romney campaign memo that came out earlier today, talking about how rick santorum is basically mathematically out of the race for the gop nomination. he laughed that off. here's what he had to say. >> reporter: hey, senator, how are you doing? i wanted to ask you, the fact that you're in puerto rico, does that sort of underline the performance of how every delegate counts now? >> well, delegates do count. as i said we're campaigning in every state. the only two states we didn't physically campaign in are hawaii and alaska, and i sent my daughter to hawaii. we did pretty well. we were up until 4:00 this morning watching them. we were within three or four points, and the area near bri

wolf? >> jim acosta at santorum headquarters in ohio right now. joe johns is covering newt gingrich's campaign in atlanta. joe, he's likely to win all the polls show he's doing really well in his home state of georgia. but what's his strategy beyond tonight? >> reporter: well for the first thing i think you have to say, wolf, they see a path to the nomination still. that path runs through the south. it goes through states like mississippi, through alabama, onto texas. of course, georgia is certainly critical in that strategy. newt gingrich saying he expects to win the majority of the delegates and do very well here tonight. listen to him from earlier today. >> we're going to carry georgia by a big margin tonight. we're going to do much better than people expected in a number of states. [ cheers and applause ] >> it turns out the american people like positive ideas and positive solutions. and the american people like proposals that give them a better future, that create jobs and help create a better future. and so i think for the third time we're g

jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney has called the upcoming contest an away game and in that game he's hade hits but he's also had some misses including an appearance on birmingham talk radio show that may not have gone as planned. >> ten minutes to the top of the hour. the rick & bubba show. >> reporter: for a candidate in hot pursuit of southern voters it may have seen like a good idea at the time. >> mitt romney is vying to be the republican nominee and he joins us now. >> reporter: but when he called in, he got more than he bargained for. >> one of the things they're going to come after is your mormon faith. >> reporter: during the program one of the hosts pressed romney on the moreman church's belief that the u.s. is land of promise. >> do mormons believe that america is the new promised land, yes or no. >> you'll have to go talk to the church and ask what they think about that. there's no question that israel is the promised land. that's what the bible tells us. >> reporter: there were also questions about romney's perceived weak finances, comments that he calls an away guy. >> the e

jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney might be a yankee but he's pulling out all the stops to lock down the southern vote before the primarieses in mississippi and alabama. >> this is like a sardine can. >> reporter: after days of tells voters in mississippi and alabama about his love of cheesy grits, mitt romney picked up an endorsement that might as well be the good housekeeping field of approval, make that "field and stream." >> i asked him if he can fix it and he did not blink and he said "yes, i can." >> there in a steady downpour in mobile, the man jeff fox worthy. he hosted a game show "are you smarter than a 59 grader" and a contest that he said they might lose. >> do you think this will mean jobs for small businesses? >> no. >> i'm afraid the president has failed the show. i know he's part of the fifth grader thing but i wonder why he does the things he does. >> reporter: it was romney doing a stand-up routine admitting to fox worthy he's not ready for the cover of "guns and ammo magazine." the lib wal remembers "think progress" came out with a list of why romney might not be a red

jim? >> well, they are. they are being cautious here as well, wolf.ant to underscore what candy was saying, because the santorum campaign is not predicting one way or another, but they are lowering expectations saying if they come in second with the popular vote, that is saying a victory for them, because they have been outspent 12 to 1. they also feel they are walking away with less delegates than they could have considering the paperwork snafu. and here in stubenville, ohio, this is where we are inside of a district where they won't be able to win delegates, because of the paperwork snafu, and they are conceding the point that yes, they have had some organizational problems in the state, but they say they are the campaign that is built to take on mitt romney going down the road to heading towards the convention, and they were saying tonight, and sounding defiant, wolf, that mitt romney cannot get 1,144 to clinch the nomination and he can say all he wants that he can't clinch it, but he can't either, and they are prepared to take the fight to the con

wolf? >> we'll watch and see what's happening, of course we'll have extensive coverage tomorrow night, jim, thank you. >>> after a steady drum beat about the overriding importance of the delegate count, mitt romney is sounding a rathwratra different tone. >> it's all about delegates, and if we get more delegates, we'll pick up some delegates and that's what it's all about. i know a lot of people will talk about delegates and strategies and math, and that's all good to the insiders, but i think the people want to see someone who has the leadership skill and presence to defeat the president and conservativism that will get america back on track again. >> sounds like a pivot. >> a big pivot. his advisors told him you have to stop talking about math, you have to take a turn and start talking about the economy and about how you're the man to fix the economy, which is exactly what we heard him doing. he's also going to be a little nuanced on the economy. and jim accosta's peace showed another pivot. because earlier on in this campaign, he hadn't said that the economy is coming back. today he at l

jim, what happened? >> reporter: wolf, as you just mentioned mitt romney is about to hold a town hall meeting just outside of baltimore. the maryland primary is coming up in about a week and a half, but mitt romney can take comfort in the fact that rick santorum's path to the nomination looks sketchy today, but as the romney campaign knows, this race for the gop nomination is not etched in stone. >> thank you. >> reporter: it was as if one of the biggest names in republican party politics was listening to mitt romney's call for unity after the illinois primary. >> join us. join us. >> about 12 hours later former florida governor jeb bush released a statement announcing his endorsement of romney. now is the time for republicans to unite behind governor romney, bush said, and take conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall, but bush's endorsement comes less than a month after he warned a crowd in texas the current republican field was alienating centrist voters. he summed it up this way to a local station. >> i t

wolf? >> soledad, what a heartbreaking story. another area hit hard, a popular tourist destination, branson, missouri. our jim the damage said to be in the tens of millions of dollars. >> reporter: this is the legends in concert theater here in branson, missouri. >> what was it like when that storm rolled through here? >> it was pretty scary. once we got in the car and started driving back to the theater, it was just a surreal experience. >> how important is it to get the theater back on its feet as quick as possible. >> it's very important to us. we're normally open in this time. we've been in the market 15 years, people expect us to be here. >> reporter: the show must go on? >> the show must go on. >> reporter: justin clark plays elwood here of the blues brothers. normally been would be getting ready? >> yes, normally putting on the costumes. i have the blues suit ready to rock and rot, but it would be a while. sooner than better, but we're trying to knock it out. we're devastated, but also encouraged with how branson is reaching out to help us out. all the theaters that weren't damaged at all have come tog

jim? >> well, they are. they are being cautious here as well, wolf.ant to underscore what candy was saying, because the santorum campaign is not predicting one way or another, but they are lowering expectations saying if they come in second with the popular vote, that is saying a victory for them, because they have been outspent 12 to 1. they also feel they are walking away with less delegates than they could have considering the paperwork snafu. and here in stubenville, ohio, this is where we are inside of a district where they won't be able to win delegates, because of the paperwork snafu, and they are conceding the point that yes, they have had some organizational problems in the state, but they say they are the campaign that is built to take on mitt romney going down the road to heading towards the convention, and they were saying tonight, and sounding defiant, wolf, that mitt romney cannot get 1,144 to clinch the nomination and he can say all he wants that he can't clinch it, but he can't either, and they are prepared to take the fight to the con

jim acosta. he's on the scene for us. what happened? >> well, wolf tell you first that rick santorum will be watching returns from illinois here in gettysburg, pennsylvania, the civil war battlefield is just down the road from where we're standing and he's doing it as a tribute in the founding fathers' home state of illinois, but it could be remembered as that crucial battleground that rick santorum gave away to mitt romney. >> thank you. thank you very much! thank you! >> reporter: it's never a good thing on primary day when a candidate is trying to cash up while cleaning up, but that's what rick santorum was doing on conservative talk radio. >> it's about what kuzes the unemployment rate to go up or down is what i'm focused on. the unemployment rate is a symptom. it's not the cause. >> reporter: what's been dubbed santorum's mitt romney moment started in molene, illinois. >> i don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. it doesn't matter to me. a choice of words that wasn't playing well in peoria, illinois. >> occasionally you say some th

jim, they were listening very clearly. >> yes. the kremlin knows how to listen, wolf.t the president in its own etch a sketch moment until the contender created a whole new controversy. >> after my election i have more flexibility. >> in frz's open mic moment with russian president dmitry medvedev, mitt romney saw an opening and the question is whether the gop front-runner missed it. >> this is to rush a it is without question, our number one geopolitical foe. the idea that our president is planning on doing something with them that he's not willing to tell the american people before the election is something they find very, very alarming. >> reporter: alarm bells also rang on capitol hill where house speaker sounded as if romney needed a lesson in washington protocol. >> i think it's appropriate that people not be critical of him or of our country. >> as for romney's number one geopolitical foe comment, it didn't take long for that to transmit back to the russian president. >> it is very reminiscent of hollywood in a certain period of history. it is 2012, not the mid-

wolf. >> jessica, stands by. there are enormous ramifications for the republicans as well. jim working this part of the story. what's the reaction so far from republicans? >> well, you heard rick santorum yesterday trying to tie mitt romney to this case that is before the high court. it remains to be seen whether that issue is going to work for rick santorum. keep in mind mitt romney has been picking up the support of pretty conservative republicans over the last couple of days, mike lee, the senator from utah, a tea party backed senator who has opposed the president's health care law. and also noted conservatives with the american conservative union. coming out in support of mitt romney. and you know, the other thing that mitt romney has going for him he has the support of a lot of other republicans up on capitol hill who are also as mitt romney is opposed to this health care law, a few of them were speaking up on capitol hill earlier today led by marco rubio, a potential vice presidential running mate for mitt michigan here's what some had to say earlier. >> obama care has be

jim acosta, joe johns, they are all standing by. let's go over to candy. she's watching what's going on, as far as mitt romney the front-runner is concerned. candy. >> reporter: wolf campaign. he will be watching in the privacy of a hotel room in new york city. don't take that to mean they don't think they will do well tonight. they are hoping to pick up at least one state and say no matter what happens, they'll be picking up delegates in all four of the contests tonight. wolf. . >> and rick santorum headquarters in lafayette, louisiana. what's going on? >> reporter: rick santorum is on his ideological home turf in mississippi and alabama, voters as culturally conservative as he is and santorum aides say they are doing well in alabama and see a southern split for tonight. >> and this night in birmingham, alabama, joe. >> reporter: wolf, newt gingrich really needs a win in alabama as he does in mississippi. his opponents are certainly making it very hard for him. this is a guy who is supposed to have the best political connections in the south of the candidates in the race. he's also supposed to have the best connection to the voters. we'll see. it may come down to

political correspondent jim acosta is joining us now from georgetown university where the former speaker is getting ready to deliver a speech. what's the latest? >> reporter: wolfo talk to students here at orangetown university within the hour. it is a sign that his campaign is not over, but it is different. his campaign advisers say the campaign is getting leaner, but not meaner. newt gingrich, who once welcomed the tag grandiose is downsizing his staff, but he insists he's not shrinking away. >> it's exactly why we're downsizin downsizing. and it's for the same reason gingrich is charging his supporters $50 to have his picture taken with them? >> it's part of the reality and the tax flow is lower than we'd like it to be, and we're doing appropriate things to be able to campaign. >> hours to cut back on his staff, he told reporters he was staying in the race. should mitt romney fall short of the 844 delegates needed to clench the nomination. >> that's why you voted for people other than romney. >> the former speaker softened his rhetoric on his one-time nemesis. >> i will support him and i will be delighted to do everything i can to help defeat barack obama. >

lone wolf, perhaps, but certainly a home-grown terrorist, somebody that's traveled back and forth to the tribal areas. and now saying that he will surrender. but we just don't know when. chris? >> jimou so much. we'll keep you posted on what's going on in toulouse. >>> meantime, residents of southern mexico are cleaning up this morning after a strong 7.4 magnitude earthquake caused damage to buildings. about a dozen people were hurt. amazingly, no deaths were reported. first daughter, malia obama is in that region on a class service trip. but the first lady's office says she is completely safe. >>> two new study that is show taking an aspirin a day may reduce the risk of cancer and prevent it from spreading. among the findings, people who take aspirin have a 15% lower risk of dying from cancer even after diagnosis. aspirin users have a 36% lower risk of having their cancers spread. >>> add batten down the hatches. democrats have come out in full force against paul ryan's budget. >> this budget they're putting forward today is a budget mitt romney will love. >> i think mr. ryan's plan, like i said before, it's deja vu all over again. it's the same plan. >> it is not a plan that this

jim acosta is in san juan. you had a chance to speak to senator santorum about this. what's going on? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. rick santorum may have been a language barrier in his hopes to win the puerto rico primary, but as he told us today, he's not backing down. >> it's a hot button issue. for rick santorum is standing by his comments that puerto rico must adopt english as a official language as a condition for statehood. the gop contender seems willing to take the heat. >> reporter: should it be a requirement? >> i think english and spanish -- obviously spanish is going to be spoken here in the island, but this needs to be a bilingual country, not just a spanish-speaking country. >> reporter: he noted the territory has already designated english and spanish as official languages, but he went a step further. the island votes on whether to become a state later this year. >> it's a requirement put on other states as a condition for entering the union. >> reporter: but santorum got that wrong. the u.s. has no official language. however, 31 states do, which is why just this week a pro-english language group

it has opened up, become more transparent beginning on the jim's president who ran the bank for a long time for about ten years prior to mr. wolf wits. there was a concerted effort to reach out to nonfwovet organizations, reach out to various stake holders and make the bank more responsive but also better understood. and i think that the success, tremendous success of emerging markets in the course of the last ten years has also made people a little less sensitive to the problems and the issues that might arise. and i don't think the world bank should take a lot of cret for that success but it certainly deserves some credit. host: our guest currentlyly at the carnegie endowment, formerly served at the world bank. also the author of juggernaut. tell us a little bit about the book. guest: the book really is about the -- how the rise of emerging markets is transforming the world economy. and how it is doing that across each of the four main channels of demrobalization, trade, finance, migration, and also the impact on the global comments. and the main message of the book is actually very perntnent to the work of the world bank bec