this dinner honors john mccain and john kerry and the late david broder. [applause] >> i will share with you what i think people considered new hampshire moments. it is bipartisan like this events. it was 1996 when bob dole won the republican nomination. that summer, dick gephardt came to manchester. he needed to pick up some items at a drug store. he stopped at brooks drug store on daniel webster highway. he put his items on the counter. the kit at the register looked up at him and said, you are a dick gephardt -- the kid at the register looked up at him and said, you are a dick gephardt. i do not believe its. . bob dole shops here too. [laughter] degette part said, we do not know what bob dole was -- dick gephardt said, i did not know what bob dole was buying in the drug store. but we know now. if you will direct your attention to the monitors around the room, we have special video bank to the folks at wmur. >> let me start that answer again. >> if he never had a chance to meet david broder, that was your loss. >> he did not alienate anyone. he could not

so john mccain had a choice. essentially a tie in iowa, mccain chooses romney.ake us behind that one. >> reporter: i think it's definitely a love triangle, there's some hate but it's a love triangltriangle, no questit it with the three of them. right, romney and mccain went at it big time and they kissed and made up in the general election in 2008, and rick santorum is somebody who has always had a very, very tense relationship with john mccain. i remember covering both of them in the united states senate, actually go back to what you and i were talking about, earmarks, john mccain is a cry sausader against earmarks and santorum was -- let's say i won't repeat the things i heard quietly about each other because this is a family-friendly television show. but the bottom line is, john mccain is a very astute politician still. he knows what he's doing. he's not a big fan of rick santorum's, especially since rick santorum puts robocalls against him in 2008 saying he doesn't have temperament to be president. this was a direct hit on rick santorum and certainly helped

john mccain cleaned mitt romney's clock in 2008. in surged from a horrible fourth place finish in iowa to win in new hampshire, beating even the guy from massachusetts, who always wins new hampshire. then john mccain went to south carolina, not exactly a john mccain state and what happened in south carolina? not only did john mccain win there but his purported big serious establishment challenger, the massachusetts guy, got killed in south carolina. mitt romney came in fourth place in south carolina in 2008. he only got 15% of the vote. not only did john mccain beat him but mike huckabee beat him, too. and fred thompson beat him there. who? yeah, that fred thompson. put aside all of the coronation stuff, put aside all of the mitt romney inevitability storyline. blank slate. say you've been in a heyperbari chamber. if you took a snapshot, look at the presidential race right now, iowa, first contest appears to have been won by rick santorum. new hampshire won by the massachusetts guy. whatever, paul songas, mitt romney. heading in sout

john mccain likes mitt romney and do a close up of meghan. >> come here. >> john mccain likes mitt romneyeghan mccain likes mitt romney and cindy mccain likes mitt romney and the whole mccain family likes mitt romney. >> is the pill you take -- >> do you want to hear why i like him? he came on the road with us. >> romney voters don't like mitt romney. >> the thing i found out about him, i had the opportunity obviously to get to know him personally and he's quite likeable and charming. >> he's like a robot. >> no, he's not. he's not at all that's not the conversation that took place. if he had endorsed santorum, i would be like slitting my wrist on the table right now. >> he could have -- >> i don't think that's appropriate. that's lax courage not to get behind someone. i find it quite lacking courage the people that refuse to do it. >> did you get to the studio early enough to hear at the beginning of the discussion, is the mccain endorsement worth much this time around? because both parties hate their losers. i heard democrats say the most awful things about john kerry after he lost the

john mccain is the comeback kid in new hampshire. er in 2008, john literally fell to being fifth in a four person race. he was out of money, carrying his own bags. he was hoping steve would pick him up but the airport so we should have arrived. the media had -- so he would have a ride. the media had declared his candidacy dead. he went town to town, a voter to voter. the crowds at the town halls crew from a handful to dozens to hundreds. and the people of new hampshire listen once again to the man who everyone had written off. so many of us have personal memories of our time with john mccain. for me, it was during my own primary. i did my first town hall meeting with john mccain. i went home that night, and i said to my husband, "even if i lose this race, that was the experience of a lifetime, to stand on stage with john mccain." i would like to share with you and especially moving story from the campaign in 2008. after a town hall meeting in wolfeboro, the mother of a corporal who died in iraq asked senator mccain to wear a bracelet

john mccain territory four years ago. small huckabee performance because not that many evangelical voters, blue collar economics as we move on, wolf. >> as we move on, wolf. >> stand by, we are approaching the top of the hour and we've got more news to share. >>> here is the latest vote that we have right now. it is so close. 19 votes separating rick santorum and mitt romney. 99% of precincts reporting. we want to welcome our viewers once again. viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from the cnn election center. let's go over and join our excellent team of correspondents, anderson cooper is here, piers morgan is here. we have a special guest right now. rick santorum is joining us at this hour. you may be the winner. you're, by all accounts, the winner. it is a virtual tie. let me congratulations you, senator santorum. have you done an amazing job, as you well know. it was not that long ago, you were nowhere in iowa. but now it is a virtual tie. you may win or lose by one or two vote

john mccain is an older man. he has made a lot of decisions in his life including joining the navy, made decisions about who to marry, having children, decisions about wars, decisions about more wars, a whole lifetime of very important decision. he says the single best decision he has ever made in his entire life was -- i realize that mitt romney wants john mccain's endorsement. but this week john mccain's endorsement came with a whiplash inducing reminder about john mccain's judgment. >>>? terms of the other candidates, there is ron paul, who as i mentioned before is doing well in the most recent polling. he was third in iowa, second in new hampshire, polling third and rising in south carolina right now. back home in texas, a federal appeals court today cleared the way for immediate enforcement of texas' new rather radical anti-abortion law. this is kind of amazing. think about. this this is the new law, it says that any woman who wants to have an abortion in the state of texas will now be forced by the governme

obama carried it in 2008 by 2% or so ahead of john mccain. so of course, he wants to be focusing there. let's listen in for a little bit and hear the president's comments there in ohio. >> and dennis kucinich, and congresswoman kap, ttur, and gr members of congress. we are happy to have them here. i understand that the folks here at the school have a pretty good basketball team -- [ applause ] -- boys and girls. unfortunately, i have no eligibility left. so i can't play with you. i want to wish everybody a happy new year. [ cheers ] >> 2012 is going to be a good year. it is going to be a good year. and one of my new year's resolutions is to make sure that i get out of washington and spend time with folks like you. [ applause ] because folks here in ohio and folks across the country, i want you to know, you are the reason why i ran for this office in the first place. you remind me what we are still fighting for. you inspire me. [ laughter ] okay. you do. no, you remind me that this country is all about folks who work hard and where responsibil

[cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "john mccain, john mccain, john mccain!"] john, go!"] ♪ >> those remarks from senator john mccain took place after winning the new hampshire primary in 2000. the first in the nation 2012 contest is also taking place, 8:00 p.m. eastern, a road to the white house coverage continuing at an o'clock p.m. eastern with speeches from candidates. you can join us by phone or facebook or follow us on twitter, and we will follow the candidates on to the south carolina primary on the 31st. going back to february 1, 2000, from george w. bush. he lost the primary by 19 points to senator mccain. here is a look at his 10-minute speech. [cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. thank you very much. judd, i appreciate it. the huge turnout, it warms my heart. [cheers and applause] i just placed a phone call to my friend john mccain on the race he ran in new hampshire. he ran a really good race and a strong race. he spent more time in this great state than any of the other candidates, and it paid off, and tonight is hi

how significant is it for mitt romney to get an endorsement from john mccain? anned for a while. the value of the mccain brand, particularly in new hampshire, a place he won in 2000, and beat george bush, a place he beat mitt romney, it's a little coincidental, isn't it, that this would happen on this day after iowa? >> reporter: the move is meant to sway undecided voters like kevin krawiec, a respiratory therapist in peterborough. have you made your mind up who you're voting for? >> no, not 100%. i really like rick santorum. he was he was so far down, i was disheartened but the showing he did yesterday made me move him up so it is between mitt and rick santorum right now. >> reporter: forest cook is already in romney's camp but came to hear what mccain would say about his former adversary. >> watched the two mix it up four years ago but now bury the hatchet. >> they say they have. >> reporter: they are frenemies? >> exactly. that's the way it should be. >> talking to voters last night, they said that john mccain went to peterborough so many times four years ago

the lighter red is john mccain. the darker red, these are the counties that mitt romney -- mitt romney, 32%. he only wanted a few counties but he was the former massachusetts governor. john mccain is now on team romney. just endorsed him today. you have to say romney is the overwhelming favorite in new hampshire but it's been a volatile year, don. >> i have been watching you, you have been talking to that wall. when the wall starts to talk back to you, we're going to have -- >> she talks back. >> she does? let's move forward to south carolina 2012. if you want to give us the overall but then also talk about romney. >> let's go to the numbers for romney first. south carolina was another big disappointment. some say christian evangelicals took it out on him that he was a mormon. remember, he lost iowa, new hampshire. there was also a momentum factor. south carolina was really the end of the line. but you raise a very interesting question. now in this race. >> right. >> mccain eeked it out. 33% to 30%. rick perry says

and, i think john mccain did the same think.t has drawn particular attention to mitt romney is he didn't have a quick response to it and obviously the differentiator with the governor is he is so incredibly rich and the richer you are, and, especially, given the controversy, dare i say needlessly over his bain capital days it has added to the drama around, gee, why aren't you releasing that and what are you hiding and what do you mean, you were paying at the low rate? and it gets to be too complicated and maybe he figured, carl cameron's point, with you guys, after running the table and wrapping it up, april is a perfectly fine time to release things and now he's under pressure to get it out sooner rather than later and i suspect that is what he'll do. >> martha: it is interesting, it always seems to be how you handle it, not necessarily that it's an issue. how you handle it and you make great points in terms of, if he had come out and said, yeah, i'm doing it in april. that is what i'll do and move on to the next question and t

. >>> mitt romney and john mccain's alliance has left some scratching their heads. the man who could not beat obama teamed up with a man who could not even beat mccain. in fairness that was in reference to the notion of mccain as a vp with romney, which is a weird concept, if ever there was one. but it does speak to a point. is john mccain's endorsements a good thing or does it reinforce stereo types about he is a establishment republican, too much of a moderate, et cetera? >> is anyone going to believe he's not a establishment republican? he enacted a statewide health care in massachusetts. i don't think anyone will think, he will come in and slash my taxes and eliminate the department of education. that's obviously not who he is. i'm not sure how much this could hurt him. it sort of reinforces something that's true. >> the other thing about that endorsement is that the actual endorsement didn't go so well. i'll read you a little bit of tick tok on what happened. this is according to dana milbank. the senator grimaced when he was introduced as romney delivered his

senator john mccain shows up in new hampshire and endorses governor mitt romney. nator mccain, who won new hampshire on his way to winning the republican nomination four years ago, is very popular in new hampshire. how big is this endorsement? kelley ajotriot was at the rally today. >> great to be with you. >> greta: nice to have you. tell me, back in 2008, i am fixated, i realize this, but senator mccain went hard at governor romney in this ad, that i posted on gretawire, if you want to see t. now today, the big endorsement. but explain to me how you can say such horrible things, true or not, and then show up on the same stage saying, let's work together. >> well, i think it's this. you know, there is a candidate for each time. john mccain came to new hampshire. we answer him almost our adopted senator. we love him here. it was a great endorsement for governor romney to get. but it comes down to governor romney is the candidate for this time, where we are right now, we need to turn our economy around, he's a turnaround specialist and to have that endorsement from

watch the last five seconds of the ad now. ♪ ♪ >> i'm john mccain and i approve this message. >> ericn endorses mitt, newt gingrich comes out and says -- >> dana: that's what he said yesterday. they were bitter rivals in 2008. now mccain seems sincere he thinks romney would be better than who is currently running. >> andrea: i agree. the second one is a better ad, particularly about guns. this is a reason that the base of the g.o.p. loved rick santorum, one of them. he is consistent and he is pro-gun. i will say that >> brian: guns kill squirrels. you are forgetting that. >> dana: and shot with his bare hands. >> andrea: i think the g.o.p. is divided in two camps. conservatives. one sector of conservative believes he is not conservative enough. then there are other conservatives who say i don't think he would do romneycare again on the national level. i believe him, and i trust him. he probably wouldn't get pulled to the left. they don't think he can win. they think he is too timid. >> bob: that is a hard-hitting negative ad. that is what i expect from gingrich wall-to-wall with five

, i approve this message. >> yes, that was a john mccain ad from 2008. gingrich continued to pile on romney yesterday. calling romney a "liberal and political chameleon" with "limited appeal in a conservative party." >> the fact is three out of four republicans rejected him. governor romney is a moderate massachusetts republican to the left of the vast majority of republicans. i find it amazing the news media continues to say he's the most electable republican when he can't even break out in his own party. >> the obama white house also piling on. david axlerod saying after the iowa vote that mitt romney is a charleton. in his first public appearance since his near-win in iowa, rick santorum spoke about the importance of tuesday's primary vote. >> you fight to be first. you have a responsibility that comes with that. and that is to lead. not pay attention to what the polls say or what the pundits say. how many pundits were right over the last six months about what was going to happen in this race? none. serially wrong. they're worse than weathermen. so, d

he has the enmity of the john mccain. john mccain really has a thing about rick santorum. in that losing campaign, responding to isantorum's request for help, and then in 2008, going after john mccain and a big way, not just endorsing mitt romney, but attacking john mccain in the most temperamental why. mccain went down to south carolina to poke it santorum. >> evan? >> i don't think it santorum can win. this was fun, but i think charles wrote a column in "the washington post" on friday that sounded pretty due to fall to me -- dutiful to me. he is kind of possible, and not really plausible but there is this kind of kabuki here. >> i am with evan. he could theoretically it knock off romney if the conservatives coalesce around him. but at the moment, that does not look like that is going to happen. if he got the nomination, obama would win quite easily. >> a few minutes ago, mark shields, who is in iowa for the caucuses, sat in front of the camera for us. i asked him what we learn from iowa. >> we learned that every vote does count. beyond that, we learned that rick santorum

john mccain dressed almost the way he used to be at campaign events in new hampshire.said he's here to defeat president obama, which, of course, is the man who beat john mccain. the key here is that john mccain did north and the west parts of new hampshire and mitt romney who used to be governor of massachusetts always did well in the southeast. if you can get that support together it will give him the deal even though mitt romney is far ahead in the polls so far and frankly it wasn't all that. it was a lot of people in the room, a lot of school kids who came up from the high school cafeteria and there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm. there was some weak applause from time to time. it was odd for a campaign launch event? new hampshire post-iowa. >>. >> woodruff: gwen, as you say, mitt romney has the lead in the polls in new hampshire so how much of a bounce do his people think he gets out of this photo-finish win in iowa? >> well, winning tight is better than a poke in the eye with a stick. but it's unyear that translates into new hampshire. mike huckabee won in iowa pretty

now mitt romney has john mccain, bob dole, george bush.ld republican party to be sure but that's a big part still even in the age of the tea party, of the republican party. rick santorum will need some people standing by his side. >> you've got newt gingrich going after mitt romney now. hammer and tong. just really preparing to go very, very tough on him. you've got rick santorum proving he could virtually tie him with very little organization, very little money. and ron paul is going to capture some part of that libertarian, some pat buchanan, live free or die sentiment and a lot of young people here, college students as well. so there is a triple threat. that's all you would say plays to mitt romney's advantage because they divide the opposition. >> they divide it up. it would take mitt romney making a series of mistakes for him to leave this state, tuesday's primary, in a wounded position. i think he is likely to be in a strengthened position. then with rick perry in the race, it sets up nicely for romney. but co-make mistakes. we have

public mocking from insiders and establishment icons like john mccain. mitt romney support. >> i think we ought to send newt gingrich to the moon and mitt romney to the white house. what do you think? >> reporter: friday, the former speaker got a shot in the arm from sarah palin. what we have seen in florida this week is beyond the pale she wrote on her facebook page. i have great concern about the gop establishment trying to anoint a candidate without the blessing of the grass roots. those grass roots gingrich says will keep him in the fight long beyond florida even if he loses tuesday. counting on people power as he calls it to prevail over big money. >> i will go all the way to the convention. i expect to win the nomination. you just had two national polls that show me ahead. why don't you ask governor romney what he's going to do if he loses since he's behind in both national polls? >> reporter: newt gingrich says a conservative has the best shot to beat president obama in the fall, calling mitt romney a massachusetts moderate and pointing out the la