let me ask you a particular point here. should candidates be responsible for ads put on the air by their former staffers in interest? should they be responsible for the ads? >> look, you guys are reveling and wall owing in the perception of what's going on. there's a law defined and all the candidates are following the law. and to suggest that governor romney shouldn't know what's in the ad with all the clippings that have been out describing it, come on. stop being ridiculous and get to the point. when you think's something bad about tithing your time to serve? if there's anything he understands about giving of time and going back to the normal sector, it's the normal part of the sector. it's new hampshire. stop being ridic lus and talk about the issues, job problems -- >> governor, you used the word riddick does -- governor, repeating the word ridgic lus doesn't make it so. i was in iowa and i saw your ads saturated with negativity and then saying he seasonal responsible. >> he's not responsible. do you know what the law i

obama fight are much better for republicans than the dynamics of a romney/obama fight. >> and let me ask you, you released your taxes as you've noted in the middle of a debate, actually. i listened to you talk last night, sort of talking about how the people who voted for you in south carolina feel so disconnected from the elites in washington and new york. you talked about the elite media. i remember in those tax returns, last year you made $3 million. you worked for freddie mac and fannie mae, two government agencies people think helped create the housing mess. you were speaker of the house for several terms. so how are you not an elite? what makes the difference between an elite new yorker and an elite washingtonian and newt gingrich? >> you know, ronald reagan did very well for a long time, and people understood that he -- he was never in washington even when he was president. i think it's a matter of attitude. i ran for congress to change things in washington. i worked with president reagan to change things in washington. as speaker of the house, we did change things. welfare reform, fi

. >> schieffer: general, let me ask you this as a military man. you know, we've always said in the past we had to be ready to fight two ground wars at once. basically the strategy you outlined and that the secretary has outlined in this new policy envisions not happening again. are you concerned that... i mean, we all hope it doesn't happen again but there are no guarantees in this world. if it should happen again, what do we do? >> well, actually, i think it will happen again. i didn't... we didn't roll out a strategy that suggested that we wouldn't be able to do more than one thing at a time. in fact, we were pretty adamant that we must be able to do more than one thing at a time. by the way, not limit ourselves to two. i mean, the threat and the environment in which we find ourselves in this decade of the 21st century suggests to us that it's likely to be more than two. so back to secretary panetta's point. this isn't about sizing ourselves against two particular scenarios. this is about building a force that is capable of doing more than one th

>> i don't think i better respond. >> you don't want to go that far? >> let me ask this guy. u think newt gingrich is trying to show his softer side here or what? >> i just can't say too much good about newt gingrich. >> well, i'm with you, bro. let me go to you. sir, what do you think -- too many teardrops? isn't there a song? too many teardrops. >> i think he's sincere. i think he's just tired. exhausted. >> thank you. i'm with you, actually. >> i don't think it was sincere, but when hillary cried, it was sincere. >> that's what we like. true political prejudice. that's what we're all guilty of that. not you. you're exactly who i want to talk to you why not you? >> i have nothing to say. >> nothing to say? gosh. we don't like that. over here. there you are. >> hey! >> excellent reading material. >> great reading material. >> what's the name of that book? >> "jack kennedy: elusive hero." >> let me ask you about your views. crying in politics. ed muskie totally denied it back in my age, '76, he didn't cry with the tear, it was something, it was the snow on his eyes or whatever

level of income concentration, this disconnect between growth and fairness. >> congresswoman, let me ask you before we have to go. one of the things that i think sticks out in this campaign that has bothered me more than anything is that when you raise the question of unfairness, you accused of being envious. and i really think that it is beyond to say that just because people want fairness, that's all, that they are somehow jealous or somehow envious. are the democrats running, not only the president but for congress and senate, are they going to yield any ground on this fight for fairness this year? >> absolutely not. reverend al, as someone on the ballot later this year myself and represents a district here in florida, in south florida, we as democrats are going to continue to fight to make sure that the tax code is fair for everybody. that everybody has an opportunity to be successful. small business owners benefit from the 17 different tax breaks that barack obama pushed through and that congress passed under our leadership. it's incredibly important that we make sure that when it comes

and let me ask you. you've been with newt gingrich all day. let me ask you candidly. is this personal? it seems like newton leroy gingrich is saying no matter what, he's digging in. is this personal? is this strategic? does he think down the road he can pick up some southern states he's favored in super tuesday? what's happening here? >> well, reverend, i've always thought with newt gingrich it was more about ego than anything else. what we're seeing here in this final active dave campaigning is nothing short of scorched earth. he has been basically using all these sort of anti-mormon dog whistles suggesting that romney is anti-jewish, that romney is anti-catholic. we've also had him just randomly making up things. newt announced to a crowd in tampa, there's a brand new poll out that says we're all even. it turns out this was a poll released on friday done from polling done several days before that. there's a lot of flailing going on, but it's more than just flailing because he is leaving lasting impressions in the minds of voters here. if he loses, as all people expe

trichet sat down with maria to talk about his progress and how things will end. >> jean-claude, let me ask you> let me ask you about the etr. a lot of people believe did put some stability in the situation. tell me how you see it. >> i think it was a very good decision. had to cope with an intensification of the crisis in the financial sector and with the european banks put in a situation which was extremely abnormal. and the governing council looked at the concept of limited supply of liquidity at fixed rate. we started ninth of august, 2007. we went up to six months and up to one year. i think three years operation was a very, very good decision. and i think it's recognized by all observers. doesn't mean it's time for complacency. certainly not. a lot of hard work has to be done by government, by banks themselves, and of course by the several countries that are at stake. >> do you believe we will see a resolution to the greece negotiations in the next couple of days? >> it is my working assumption, of course. because it has been all parties concerned. and we see that it is my working assumpt

books or were you acting in front of the white house? and then let me ask this. sterday at the plane with a letter to give the president. and you wanted to hand it to him. here's a lady that had written a book attacking the president. a lady that is fighting the president on immigration who the justice department has hit her state on racial profiling. you showed up with a letter. i met with the left three met prts, one i marched on. in fact two of them. clinton and bush. but i never showed up with a letter because if you show up with a letter, you are looking for a confrontation. you are a governor. if you want to invite the president somewhere, you are talking to him. the only reason you bring a letter is to dramatize and confront. joining me now is joe madison, host of "mornings with madison" on sirius xm radio. what do you make of brewer's disrespect? >> i guess both of us have been in some of those marches. i've been with you. presidents, republican and democrat. you know that we both have been at the white house to discuss all kinds of things and sometimes we

let me ask you. >> come on. >> let me ask you one last time. do you think the law is a good law allowing candidates. >> no, the law should be changed. everybody. every candidate agrees the laws should be changed. nobody likes that law. but unfortunately, bad legislation put the supreme court in a position where they had to make that decision. >> okay. gene, i've been watching this campaign. i have yet to hear a call by governor romney for reform in campaign advertising. >> i haven't heard that either. i'm curious why governor romney -- governor sue new new why did the governor say he hadn't seen the ad if he had? >> well, he has gene. the clips describing what's in the ads. you don't think he reads news clips? don't be silly. >> don't be silly. so you're attesting to the fact he doesn't see the ads before or after they're airing. >> can i ask a question? >> sees the ads. i know he reads the news clippings. >> i don't know why you're skirting theish eye but saying he didn't watch the ads. why are you dodging the issue of responsibility? >> every

you're obviously here with an agenda. >> come on. >> let me ask you one last time. thing la slaw is a good law -- >> no. the law should be changed. everybody. >> thank you. >> every candidate agrees the law should be changed. nobody likes that law, but unfortunately bad legislation put the supreme court in a position where they had to make that decision. >> okay. gene, i've been watching this campaign. i have yet to hear a call by governor romney for reform in campaign advertising. >> i haven't heard that either, but i'm curious as to why governor romney says -- why did governor romney say he hadn't seen the ads if, in fact, obviously he had? >> what he has, gene, is clips describing what's in the ads? you don't believe he reads news clips? come on, don't be silly. >> don't be silly. so you're attesting to the fact that -- >> can i ask a question? >> i have no idea whether he sees the ads, but i know he reads the news clips. >> okay. i don't know whew you're skirting the issue. why are you dodging the issue of responsibility? >> everything he's talked about has been

but let me ask you this, bob. mr. santorum is also in this race. now let me show you something very quickly that really bothered me today. a woman at one of his events stood up and said that the president -- president obama was a muslim. watch this. >> i never refer to obama as president obama because legally, he is not. he is an avowed muslim and my question is, why isn't something being done to get him out of our government. >> i'm doing my best to try to get him out of the government. >> now this is outrageous to me. he doesn't stop to correct this woman that the president of the united states is not a muslim. though there would be nothing wrong if he was. and that he is not legally -- he is not holding office illegally. he doesn't correct any of that. he just ignores all of that and goes for, i'm trying to get him out. while the audience is cheering this misinformation. this is the kind of ugliness that i think will hurt the republican party and should be denounced by everybody in this country. >> well, first of all, santorum himself constantly

so let me ask you the question just so people know where you're coming from. are you a corporatistover -- or a conservative? >> i'm a conservative, a russell kirk conservative. you know, when i was younger i didn't, you know, i followed the flashier conservatives than russell kirk. but eventually you came to see he had something really good to say about society and how to preserve it. so i'm much more that. i'm also as a catholic i've got a little of the social cyclicals back in there, ralph. >> host: liberation theology? >> guest: no. [laughter] no, let me tell you a story though, ralph. i went to school, journalism school, and one of my classmates was an old priest. my brother was for a while. and he and i became friends. his name was miguel. he became the foreign minister of the sandinistas, and he won the peace prize. he's a classmate of mine, catholic. no, but i didn't agree with him back then, and i don't agree with him, obviously, now. >> host: and how would you define a corporatist? >> guest: i would say a lot of the lobbyists here in washington, d.c.,

let me ask you about last time around. let me ask you about this thing what i call sort of the catholic angry vote that came up here, the people who moved up here, not the old yankees that have been here for generations, the back to the mayflower people. irish, italian, canadians, different people that moved up here. they liked pat buchanan and pro-life and they are gritty, gritty catholics. do you think that's a vote that santorum can nab in just five or six days? >> i'm not sure santorum will be able to win the new hampshire primary. i think that romney has built his firewall there. i think the question is can rick santorum move into double digits? can he finish second in new hampshire or finish close to ron paul? does he have momentum coming out of new hampshire which sets up a must-win state for him which i think is south carolina. i think that if rick santorum is going to take this primary deep, he has to win somewhere, and he has to win in south carolina, and he's going to have to win in florida, or be close in florid

other guy, but you also break yourself. >> and divide the country. >> you divide the country. >> let me ask youbout this campaign. i know you want to go positive, but the nature of this campaign, and what was done against you in iowa, let's talk about it. we all watched it. you couldn't turn on a tv set without hearing a negative on you, and they were about you personally, and they were written by somebody who did the ad copy, but they were never signed by anybody. >> that's right. >> there was no name on it, that said, i paid for this ad, pay for my mitt romney. what does that do to the system? >> that's right. and i took on mitt romney head-on. those were his staff from the last campaign with his millionaire friends paying for it. those were his ads. he just didn't have the guts to admit it. >> he did come out saying, i could have called off the dogs, not using his words. i could have made it less negative, by why should i? this guy should take the heat. he basically backed them up. >> here's my answer. he has grandchildren. he ought to run a campaign worthy of his grandchildren. he ought to

but let me ask you this, when you watch that basically tv ads are the reason somebody wins, a lot ofparticularly in a state like the size of florida, this early in the process, is that good for the process? >> well, i think it's good for florida. certainly, it's good to have as many people focused on the sunshine state, what people in florida are talking about, the economic woes that we're going through, the housing crisis that we have suffered. those things are very important from a national perspective, and i think it's important that florida's earlier for this reason as well -- florida really is a microcosm of the country. you know, all due respect to south carolina, iowa and new hampshire, but florida is such a mega state, the fourth largest state in the country. having an opportunity for a state this size to weigh in this early i think really does put a national perspective on the campaign and for the candidates. >> okay, but let me ask you this, have you felt that you understand, for instance, the housing policies of newt gingrich or mitt romney? >> we haven't seen a lot on tha

let me ask you a couple of specific questions. i want to ask you about prepaid cards, something that i have been pursuing for a while now. a product whose use has exploeded in the past few years especially under banked consumers, since gift cards and other cars have been regulated, prepaid cards have been one of the few largely unregulated products in the marketplace and as for the fees consumers pay on them, there's a wide range of undisclosed and i believe in many cases unreasonable fees and they certainly don't come with fdic insurance or protection against theft or loss for the consumer. so, we have introduced legislation that the prepaid card consumer protection act, what progress has the bureau made in moving forward on consumer protections on these cards? >> let me say a couple things in response to that, senator. and we appreciate your particular interest in the subject and the legislation you have spruintroduced to concerns raised. and the -- there are two things at work, number one, prepaid cards are the example of innova

let me ask you. >> come on. >> let me ask you one last time. do you think the law is a good law allowing candidates. >> no, the law should be changed. everybody. every candidate agrees the laws should be changed. nobody likes that law. but unfortunately, bad legislation put the supreme court in a position where they had to make that decision. >> okay. gene, i've been watching this campaign. i have yet to hear a call by governor romney for reform in campaign advertising. >> i haven't heard that either. i'm curious why governor romney -- governor sue new new why did the governor say he hadn't seen the ad if he had? >> well, he has gene. the clips describing what's in the ads. you don't think he reads news clips? don't be silly. >> don't be silly. so you're attesting to the fact he doesn't see the ads before or after they're airing. >> can i ask a question? >> sees the ads. i know he reads the news clippings. >> i don't know why you're skirting theish eye but saying he didn't watch the ads. why are you dodging the issue of responsibility? >> every

now let me ask you, erin, about enthusiasm. the polling, the flavors of the week, gop voters on presidential field in january, 51% felt the field was excellent to good. january of 2008, it was 68%. only 44% in january of this year. in '08, 31% said they were fair to poor. so you get this sense that people are really saying the field doesn't excite us. >> that's right. but they have been saying all year that the field doesn't excite them. and it's actually pretty bad for the republican party that the enthusiasm level has gone down rather than up. as the primary season has gone on. so, you know, i agree with that, that it's a problem. i've talked to a lot of voters here who say it's a foregone conclusion that mitt romney is going to win in new hampshire. probably will get the nomination and he just doesn't excite voters. mitt romney will have a lot to handle if he does get the nomination in trying to not only unite conservatives behind him so they don't launch some sort of third party candidacy, but also to get the base excited e

so let me ask you the question just so people know where you coming from. >> guest: right. >> host: are you a corporatist or a conservative? >> guest: i'm a conservative. i'm a traditionalist conservative, a russell kirk conservative. he was -- you know, when i was younger, i didn't, you know, i'd follow the flashier conservatives than russell kirk, but eventually you came to see that really he had something good to say about the society and how to preserve it. i'm also, as a catholic i've got a little -- [speaking in native tongue] the cyclicals, back in there, ralph -- >> host: liberation theology? >> guest: no. [laughter] let me tell you a story though, ralph. i went to school, and in journalism school, and one of my class mates was a mare knoll priest. and he and i became friends. his name was miguel. he became the foreign minister of the sandinistas, and he won the lenin peace prize. he's a classmate of mind, catholic. so, no, i did not agree with him back then and i don't agree with him, obviously, now. >> host: and how would you define a corporatist? >> guest: i would say corpora

let me ask you about that speech last night. i want you to start cillizza. this politics of envy, trying to throw the democrats backwards on any charge there's unfairness in our tax system. it's set very easily that it's easy to become rich now, or doable and very hard to survive in the middle class. anybody who talks like that is some sort of trotskiite. >> you heard john sununu, the former new hampshire governor, push back. he's a romney surrogate. push back against that idea essentially saying if you believed in what -- if you believed in the idea of government intervention as anti-american. so a lot of hot rhetoric. one, chris, you are 100% right. that speech was 95% mitt romney aura of inevitablity. i'm going to be the nominee. this is what we'll be talking about in the election. still he has to go to south carolina. the most conservative electorate, trying to convince people through rhetoric, european style socialist, welfare state, et cetera, that he and they are not that far apart in how they view the world. he still has to get over that south caroli

let me ask you this. first of all, you are neutral in the race as chairman of the party.rom that position. can willard be taken down in your opinion in south carolina, or is this a foregone conclusion? >> i don't think there are any foregone conclusions. south carolina has a rich history. 30 years of picking the nominee. there are ten days to go. we're the center of the political universe. serve watching. like i mentioned, you and everybody else on television, on every network is talking about south carolina. and the important role that we play. and so this is going to be determined by the candidate that gets out there, meets our people, connects with them and makes the most -- and creates the most buzz in the next ten days. that's going to tell the tale. >> mr. connelly, let me show you this graph about south carolina. >> okay. >> it's a little different than iowa and new hampshire. in fact, very different. 68% of it is conservative. this is how they label themselves. 60% evangelical. 96% white. 72% earn $50,000 or more. 25% military veterans. these, of course, are the r

let me ask you about your endorsement. ave court your endorsement and could be very influential in tomorrow's voting. who will you endorse? >> i have not made that decision. >> it's getting a little bit late! >> hours rather than days. when i first stepped into this, we made -- set up a plan, january 6th of last year, almost a year ago, on how to go forward on this to accelerate the caucus process. we held a celebration here in march in des moines and successful and went to new hampshire and joined jennifer horn there and jim demint and i. we went on to south carolina. i thought by september or october i would have reached a conviction and i've not reached that conviction this morning. >> why? >> let me ask you. bob and i were talking about this. you have the governor of the state terry branstad have not decided and you haven't decided and chuck grassry who is influential here has not decided. why not commit to mitt romney? he is at the top of the polls. >> i think we like all of these candidates and that is part of. . rick

he has flip flopped on every major issue >> chris: let me ask you a question. you go after rom no for lage off people, correct. >> mike: for a lot of things. >> chris: but that is one of them. >> mike: for that. >> chris: let me ask you about that. is the president responsible for laying off the people of solyndra. >> mike: no, he was not the ceo of solyndra >> chris: romney was not the ceo of the companies, he was a venture capitalist and put taxpayer money in solyndra and so is the president responsible for the thousand people responsible solyndra e. >> mike: not even close. but mitt romney is responsible for being ceo of companies that he took over >> chris: no, he was not ceo. >> mike: he was ceo and they bought. >> chris: he is ceo. >> mike: he is not ceo of solyndra >> chris: mitt romney was not ceo of the companies. you are saying the president had no responsible for what happened in solyndra. >> mike: what i am saying is mitt romney >> chris: i am asking you about the president. no responsibility for solyndra? >> mike: the president has responsibility fo

. >> let me ask you, you know, i know that in previous republican primaries, the last couple cycles in florida, getting tougher on immigration has been a popular stance, but overall can have a bit of a mixed reaction in the state of florida, how does that answer play both inside the party and within the general electorate? >> i was in the audience last night. it's a mixed reaction. sort of hard to believe that more than 10 million will self-depart. there are some folks that are doing that right now, because the economy is not so good, so they're headed back to mexico. i think anyone who looks at this subject in a serious way realizes not only will there be a self-deportation, but somer for ensure people are here legally and if not, they're sent home too. >> let me ask you about what mitt romney is hitting newt gingrich on in the state of florida, both a political issue, about you also a issue hit. here's a, po of the new ad. >> while florida families lost everything in the housing crisis, newt gingrich cashed in. he was paid by the scandal-ridden agency that helped create the crisis. a

(laughter) >> stephen: let me ask you something. do something in interviews that i don't understand. why let the guests talk. (laughter) and you listen to them while we're doing it. that doesn't make any sense to me. (cheers and applause) >> because i see it as my job to create a kind of comfort zone where the guests will feel safe... >> stephen: i'm going to stop you right there. when does terry gross sell out and cash in? why don't you just leave this public nonsense behind and go for the big bucks. why not terry gross' fresh air brought to you by febreze. (laughter) >> it's really wonderful on public radio to not be beholden to sponsors. to not have to worry about advertising. >> but you have to get the people to give you money. for 25 years, you must be running out of new ways to ask for cash. at this point it's got to be give me $20 and i'll eat a bug. (laughter) >> i'll try that! >> stephen: terry, thank you so much for joining me. fresh air and whyy, terry gross, we'll be right y, i'm really glad we took this last minute trip

but more than that, they feel your heart and soul. >> let me ask you about something going on today between you and mitt romney. here's what he had to say about jobs and liking to fire people. here he is. >> i want individuals to have their own insurance. that means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. it also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> i don't know if he was joking, but here's what you said earlier today on the campaign trial in response. >> i will always put my country first. it seems that governor romney believes in putting politics first. governor romney enjoys firing people. i enjoy creating jobs. >> now, do you think that was entirely fair or it seems like he was trying to make a joke like about liking to fire the cable or insurance guy. >> well, he said he enjoys firing people. i think at a point in time where we are hit by joblessness in this country, it's very painful for a lot of families. moms and dads, kids, homes and communities, we ought to be talking abou

let me ask you about the debt ceiling issue, representative gramm, you again. you have to cast a vote disapproving it, and you're going to cast it disaprievingering right, in your case? >> yes. >> why is that? why not say, we all know that we have to do this? that could be a good way to make a goodwill gesture? >> well, i think that because the negotiations up to this point have not been completely in goodwill. i think that most of the republicans and a lot of my colleagues on the other side realize that we are facing an out-of-control debt crisis, and we have not been able to get it under control. we have not put together a plan that the rest of the world deems credible, let alone the united states. >> well, i agree, they are playing political games and we have to raise the debt ceiling, because america pays the bills you know that, i know that. and i think that having a resolution on the floor just to vote no about raising the debt ceiling when you know we have to work together to do so is to me just brinksmanship. >> i respect that opinion, i really do, but

ultimately concerning the current crisis, it might involve some sort of intervention as well. >> let me ask you about the president's state of the union address because you also have highlighted this in a number of essays you've written. the president said i have no doubt that the assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cannot be reversed and that human dignity cannot be denied. as you hear those words from the president singling out a country in his state of the union address, what's your reaction? >> i think it was no mistake. i think also the obama administration realizes the assad regime is on its last legs. the question is many people ask, well, can assad hold on. he can hold on. depends on what holding on means. what we'll likely see in the coming months the decreased penetration of the state in the did he graphic area of syria, areas of syria falling outside of government control with assad maintaining control and regime maintaining control of the military but large pockets of the country, in the north, south, perhaps eastern falling out of his power. you have a civil o