and newt gingrich they both obviously have huge problems to me the scariest thing about mitt romney is that while he was governor of my home state of massachusetts he presided over what is now called romney care massachusetts has the highest percentage of insured residents in the country and the fewest number of uninsured children in the country however experts like experts like karl rove are saying romney would have to distance himself from the plan to have a chance with republicans that should tell you how backwards the situation is over there yeah something that you should be proud of by all means then turn into something that you have to completely deny but you know what else i find frustrating personally as a woman i guess you could say is that sarah palin and michele bachmann are really the only ones involved here they're the only presentation and i'm just wondering where is the republican hillary clinton you know do they have some kind of aversion to smarter women. yeah this is a fascinating topic i have anti sexist expert jackson cats who writes for huffington post on my sho

. >> he did talk about mitt romney. >> he did talk about mitt romney. the fact is, you know, we've got enough issues to deal with and not worry about who is going to be the republican nominee. there will be a republican nominee at some point. we'll deal with it next year. the concern now is creating jobs, giving confidence to the american people this recovery is real, and doing the things that fortify their belief, which is the truth, that this is the greatest country in the world, and the opportunities in this country going forward are there for them. >> where do you think unemployment has to be for him to be re-elected? >> i don't know. there's so many factors involved. obviously, we're happy that -- very pleased that the trend seems to be moving forward. not because of a re-election, because you are given opportunities for families to have jobs, and people of the future and hope. that's what it's about. i know we can be pretty cynical in this town, but normal people out there in america, the last thing they're thinking about right now in 2012. >> we'

among the more established candidates running, newt gingrich has 19% among tea partyers, mitt romney down to 14%. why aren't the tea party favorites running? >> i think it's economy managers who are running and the social issue people who are holding back. i think they may think that in this year, as we were discussing, the concern about decline in the american economy and so forth, that the social issue play, the regional play, talking about traditional values, is not going to be as important and that's one of the things that those people are known for, whether it's sarah palin or mike huckabee. chris: in iowa, you can play up the cultural right, the religious right. i think you saw huckabee pandering to that crowd with this kenya talk. >> then huckabee saying, oh, i meant to say indonesia. none of that adds up. what's interesting about the tea party, you have the economists that are focused on the deficit and on taxation and there is no one representing the financial wing of the tea party. so you have the social conservatives who are not running but i'm surprised we have not had so

mitt romney is a front-runner who they have never completely embraced.ah palin appears to be not running at the moment. you know, the first debate, republicans, is may 2nd at the reagan li in call ka. she shas signed to do a speaking engagement in denver that night so she's not there it looks like mike huckabee is not running as well. so it is enormously fluid right now. >> lehrer: enormously fluid, do agree? >> yes, the republicans are a lot more orderly and hierarchal than democrats. oftentimes the democratic nominee is somebody you had never heard of four years before he is nominated. that was the case with george mcgovernor 1927, the case with jimmy carter in '76. michael dukakis in '78, barack obama in 2008. republicans is a predictability it was john mccain's turn in 2008. it was bob dole's turn in '96, george herbert walker bush in '92 and reagan in '80. there is no sense of order in this race. it's nobody's turn. there is nobody in line. the republicans form a line. democrats fall in love when they pick nominees that is sort of the difference bet

whether it was mitch daniels, president obama, about the fact that, you know, mitt romney was debatingey or the president had the governor of massachusetts and the former presidential candidate share the same host body. mitt romney does have this per accepts problem that he has to square at some point if he's going to stay the front-runner. >> i sat down with two different groups of republican activists last month and they see in mitt romney the ingredients that they are looking for for somebody take on the economy. they think he has the experience to do that. he fits that mold. but they are not sure they trust him. i think it is a hang over from the last campaign and the minute he gets in to this and voters begin to size him up that's the question they will be asking cc: themselves. do i trust this person. >> michele, i want to ask you about another topic at the organization you work at. you signed a letter basically denouncing what some of these executives did at npr, the stuff that was caught on tape. explain why or why not npr should get federal funding at this point and frankly yo

was according to an israeli puppet exe's israeli publication mitt romney and his most recent trip was paid for by apac so you can see that these the pro israel lobby does pay to get these candidates over there well let's talk about what these candidates or potential could be candidates do once they get to israel benjamin netanyahu seems more than willing to meet with anyone who comes over lots of photo opportunities and perhaps closer discussions surrounding that but one thing you don't see as many of them visiting the west bank or gaza you want to talk about this a little more. yeah that is something that you don't see and that's something that many activists argue is it is a huge issue i mean even general petraeus you heard say last year that america is pro israel stance and the perception of being more heavily supporting of israel in the mideast peace process by the arab world was a challenge for him and doing his job as a commander of that area so clearly this is an issue the palestinian issue is something that united states lawmakers according to activists absolutely need to unde

. >> mitt romney may not have a tie but he looks so much like he's wearing one. >> wanting to convey that management class, that background. the romance of the campaign trail is so important because people do respond so differently. what people want is so different in the senate than what they want as a president. it will be tough in the early going to find that way to say i can do it better. >> what about the malarkey factor? don't you have to show something, "here, i can do this, i do -- did that?" >> i think you have to show an effortless, intuitive understanding. david in his book imagines a leader called "richard gray," perfect name for the graceful candidate who without seeming to try too hard, looks like sees in charge. obama has had that at some points. at other points he's really lost it, looked like he's struggling to hang on the it's really important to remember that external factors, un employment, those are where it is. >> but if the republicans get a real unt next year because president carter -- there's a mistake -- president obama doesn't seem to have a grip on it, wh

let's start with mitt romney. is mitt in? >> he's all but official. you can make the case he never stopped running. so mitt romney has the closest thing to an organization in place. he's going to be in. >> all right. let's count him as in. what about newt gingrich? he definitely seems like he's moving in that direction. >> he's got an exploratory phase going. but newt's not doing as well in the polls as his name recognition might suggest. he's definitely playing the base. he's got a lot of credibility because of his leadership in the republican revolution. but i think you'd have to say at this point, he's on the fence, looking at it but not definitely in. >> the graphics are great. we can see these guys fake running towards each flag. let's talk about sarah palin. is she in? she's certainly playing a publicity game, keeping her name in the media by talking about potentially running. >> oh, man, she sucks up all the oxygen in the room when her name comes up. but it's a polarizing process. and palin has not yet taken serious steps to begin assembling a

relatively anodyne, at no negatives that i can see pretty . >> jonathan margin is writing that mitt romney is going to do a slow slog here, raising money, and it will drop off one by one. >> romney has got romneycare. i don't know what he does about that. >> does anybody make your heart beat faster? [laughter] >> they cannot come up with an answer. >> this is not a year where there is fantastic enthusiasm for anyone. that is why you might have republicans reaching into the next generation, who might be running in 2016, like christie. none of these guys make my heart beat faster -- >> there are good republicans that nobody has heard of. mitch daniels of indiana is a brilliant governor who directly wants to deal with our fiscal problems. jon huntsman, nobody has heard of him, but apparently he is a great guy -- >> ambassador to china. >> even haley barbour, he has been aobbyist and all that, but he has been in the sausage factory and knows how to make deals. >> four years ago we were talking about mccain and mike huckabee, and all of a sudden rudy giuliani jump out there. you look at his num

take a look at that. >> i agree with mitt romney. who recently said he is proud on what he accomplished on healthcare in massachusetts and supports giving states the power to determine their own healthcare solutions. he's right. >> chris: last night in new hampshire, romney responded, "our experiment," meaning in massachusetts, "wasn't perfect. some things worked, some didn't. some things i'd change. one thing i would never do usurp the constitutional power of the states with a one-size-fits-all takeover." he called for repeal of healthcare. kevin you were a top advisor to romney and likely will be if he gets in the race. is that his answer to comparison of the obamacare and romney-care? >> that is one part of it. related to what president obama said, i think he has proven he is not a very good judge of what are good ideas and what are bad ideas. most people will tell you it was not a good idea to craft a one size fits all healthcare plan on a federal level and apply it to all 50 states, with 50 unique healthcare populations. i don't

relatively anodyne, at no negatives that i can see pretty . >> jonathan margin is writing that mitt romney is going to do a slow slog here, raising money, and it will drop off one by one. >> romney has got romneycare. i don't know what he does about that. >> does anybody make your heart beat faster? [laughter] >> they cannot come up with an answer. >> this is not a year where there is fantastic enthusiasm for anyone. that is why you might have republicans reaching into the next generation, who might be running in 2016, like christie. none of these guys make my heart beat faster -- >> there are good republicans that nobody has heard of. mitch daniels of indiana is a brilliant governor who directly wants to deal with our fiscal problems. jon huntsman, nobody has heard of him, but apparently he is a great guy -- >> ambassador to china. >> even haley barbour, he has been a lobbyist and all that, but he has been in the sausage factory and knows how to make deals. >> four years ago we were talking about mccain and mike huckabee, and all of a sudden rudy giuliani jump out there. you look at his n

mitt romney, not yet, but there isn't a wall aspect with him. you can see him in a couple ples, but this is a calculated decision. clearly they need to figure out with health care what th exact target will be. as a release to sarah palin, i did sit down with her about a month ago. we talked about egypt where she made some news as to what she would do over there, or her assessment of the situation. we will see. there are a lot more interviews to come hopefully. st: you sat down with tim pawlenty. >> in evangelical christians, that is our personal faith perspective and journey. i am happy to share that, because people take the measure of you in terms of running for office or any other thing. they want to know what your values system is based on, who argue, what do you believe, why do you believe that? and our faith in forms what we put our priorities for, what we turn to for help, what we believe in terms of our values. it is a measure of the person and part of how they think and what they buy you and what the believe. host: based on this intervie

mike huckabee mitt romney haley barbour and george pataki and visits to the holy land all over the last few months. in our new york studio and lauren it's almost as if establishing your credentials and tell of eve is as vital as say something right here in new hampshire. it certainly seems so but though in the case of sarah palin her people said the trip was personal and not political but yet it was the american jewish coalition who was in talks with her for her to make this trip and they report that they've made requests to all of the republican politicians who have been rumored or said to have possibly be contenders in the two thousand and twelve presidential elections to make trips to israel today they meet with israeli leaders they take pictures with benjamin netanyahu so the real question is why is it so important for these politicians to be hobnobbing with the prime minister of another country when did not even so much as announce their candidacy for president her home. the pilgrimage of presidential hopefuls in the western wall a photo walk with netanyahu will all first stops ahe

bush in the past also mitt romney's trip back in two thousand and seven eight pac is reported to have funded his trip in this year according to an israel news source and the republican jewish coalition is also who wanted to send sarah palin but it's been reported that she actually went through a question to her group now the christian right is also an area which these trips play to because christian groups in the united states have some deep and strong support for israel on religious grounds as well so it kind of also plays to that constituency for some of these republican candidates christine and lauren i wanted to bring up a woman who was in your report i think she implied that a pac and i think she said punish people who vote the wrong way just wondering if you know what she meant by this. yeah absolutely she meant in a pretty direct way. a fact is established a reputation where if you don't vote along a pack lines and you vote against them they can essentially ruin your political career and she said that the major way that this is done is a pouring tons of money into a candidate's

newt gingrich, mike huckabee, mitt romney, michele bachmann, cannot win in a general election.he idea should be to beat the current administration, to win and not to have our favorites unnecessarily nominated. if i had to pick one at this point, i would say tim pawlenty. governor christie has been adamant. i think he needs more experience under his belt. hopefully, the soon the recently former ambassador to china, the former governor of utah has done a spectacular job in utah. i used to live there. i think he is a winnable in a general election. if i could incured by fellow voters to do one thing it would be not to become so enamored with the first half of the demographic. it has to be said out loud that barack obama one of the main reasons he won is because he was the first winnable african- american. so many african-americans i know was so twitter pated about that. host: we will take our final call. dave in pittsburgh on the democrats' line. turn down your tv if you could dave. let's try again. dave in its prepaittsburgh. caller:

on this whole romney make over and that's why mitt and ann romney are tonight's tool time winners. now let's turn to leakers and i'm not talking about joining us now this man shies away from the spotlight and shies away from the word dissidents because he's heard it all too many times before especially lately the last john young co-founder of cryptome dot org has been using his website to expose government secrets for the past fifteen years archie's lauren lyster got a rare chance to follow him at work as he decrypts the streets of new york city. on . a winter's day rendezvous with an unusual tour guide and cryptic critic we are here with john young he started the website or he got a game about ten years before wiki leaks did write releasing classified and secret documents of governments from all over the world on his site and another thing that he does is he goes all over photographing what you call sensitive sites right here where we're near some right now you go to graph them and put them on his website for the world to see and he thought to tag along and he's going to show us n

. >> reporter: last night in new hampshire, rom mitt romney certainly sounded like a presidential candidate. >> it's going to take more than a good speech and rhetoric to get americans back to work. it's going to take a new president of the united states. >> reporter: and defending the healthcare law he put into place in massachusetts, while blasting president obama. and when newt gingrich hits the highway, he will look like a presidential candidate. and others are testing the waters, too mike huckabee, sara palin, and tim pawlenty showing they may throw their hat in the ring, but no republican has been willing to declare, i'm running for president. >> how are you? >> reporter: what's everybody waiting for? >> as soon as you start raising money, you start spending it, and as soon as you declare, you have the democratic machinery that is going to come and attack you. >> reporter: this week, gingrich took a small step, launching a web site and exploratory committee. don't hold your breath for anything more anytime soon. >> i think it's going to take a fair amount of time. at least a number of

they would call mitt romney a rhino. on the other hand, you have the strongest of the tea party types, which is huckabee is saying he is not running. sarah palin is an interesting personality. in the polling, she is not doing well. i do not think people see her as a candidate as much as an interesting personality for the cause. it is interesting to figure out if mitt romney became the candidate if he would have the tea party or if a tea party candidate is electable. this next column is about -- >> i want to combine a couple of your columns, one from october of 2009, "the magic of michelle ." since you wrote that, she went to spain for a five-day trip to a luxury resort. when you talk about fearlessness, she has withdrawn on what her political views are. would you write the same column today? >> i do think on the trip thing, people made a lot of it, but i do not necessarily buy into doubtthat. but on the fearlessness part that she is operating on the same calculus as the president. it is better to say little or nothing ev

if you're not mitt romney, if you're not the front runner, your attitude is, bring it on, the more, the better. chris: how's that work? >> makes it easier for the first-year guys to get ahead of romney in terms of numbers and they assume the marginal guys will go after mostly romney so they think that's goo for them. chris: why is everybody competing? you have people like newt gingrich and huckabee who normally people think is a nice guy going after mao, horrible stuff. why are the people that have an outside chance to run are getting into the far right? >> you have to believe that some people believe what they're saying. bachmann and palin's criticisms of the president are things they believe. i don't think they are doing it necessarily to win a primary. the risk for these people is that the ones that are more moderate, if you run to the right in the primary, if you use that kind of language and start sounding angry, how possible is it to run back to the center and appear unangry when it comes to the general election. chris: how much, in the picture of the debates, let's say we have a

. >> what do you do if you are like a mitt romney who is trying to be a serious candidate out there, and you have these stars popping up on tv? >> you better shut up and wait for them to flame out and pray that you get -- >> speaking of stars on tv, chuck toomer is on tv every day, is he running for vice-president? >> i think so. hillary announced she doesn't want to be secretary of state next time around. the only time biden wanted to be was president or secretary of state. he did not want to be vice-president. he may get that chance and if he does, obviously obama is going to need something like chuck shumer to be his running mate if hillary isn't. >> on this week in sacramento, a press conference with governor jerry brown, slashing spending to social problems, interesting, thing like democratic, that i thought -- >> bad scene. as a matter of fact, it's what republicans would do if it was schwarzenegger signing, you'd be cutting home health care, all the things that democrats care about, that photograph is going to playing democrats for the rest of their lives if they ever run for

how big a problem is this going to be for mitt romney as he moves forward? >> this will be a stone in the shoe for romney as he continues his presidential campaign. there was an issue for john mccain in 2008 where mccain pushed for comprehensive immigration reform. republicans didn't like that. this is true for romney. mike huckabee called it socialism. others don't like the mandate in massachusetts. romney is pushing back in two ways, one, as a governor, i'm supposed to do this thing. this is what all 50 governors can do. what obama did that is wrong is take a single solution and clamp that down on the country. the second is to change the subject. as a successful businessman he knows how to create jobs. >> thanks for talking with us. so many candidates, so many decisions to be made. >> so little time. jeff glor standing by. >> weather is blamed for a deadly bus crash in northeastern pennsylvania near scranton, a tour bus turned over, crashing into a disabled car. a 41-year-old man standing next to the car was killed. most of the northeast is soggy. storm war

. -- and confident governor for the governor of massachusetts, mitt romney has run was before. that is a

among them, mitt romney has a 60% favorable rating and 21% unfavorable. the poll gives mike huckabee the highest marks. 61% favorable. 18% unfavorable. >>> and the last american world war i veteran has been laid to rest. president obama was there to pay final respects. the president and vice president biden stopped by the arlington national cemetery chapel where frank buckles was lying in honor. he was just 16 when he lied about his age in order to join the army. he died last month at 110 years old. an incredible hero's farewell, for sure. >> well deserved. >>> now, for this morning's weather around the nation. a wet day from san francisco north, with seattle expecting heavy rain. up to two feet of snow in the cascades and a foot in the northern rockies. morning showers in philadelphia, new york and boston, before warming up by this afternoon. and some lingering, light rain in the carolinas and maine. >> and here in new york, we're looking at 50s. also baltimore, 50s. miami climbs to 81. new orleans, 71. upper 60s in kansas city and omaha. and 56 in chica

with palin, other no shows last night included mike huckabee, former governor of arkansas, also mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, and donald trump. >> we'll be watching. susan mcginnis joining us live in washington. thank you. >>> on the cbs "moneywatch," stocks in asia inched up this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with the latest on that. >> reporter: good morning. well, asian markets saw some gains. the nikkei finished a fraction higher while hong kong's hang seng added nearly 2%. oil traded near $104 a barrel falling back slightly from the day before. well, today wall street tries to get back on track. on monday rising oil and gold prices put pressure on stocks. the dow dropped nearly 80 points while the nasdaq lost 39. >>> u.s. employers are growing more optimistic about hiring. according to a new survey from manpower.com, plans to hire are up 8% this quarter compared to the quarter before. the survey comes from employers in all 50 states and across all industries. >>> consumer borrowing jumped in january for the fourth straight month, but americans were still

the forme ebay chief tells the wall street journal she wants to shape public policy and support mitt romney's presidential bid. >> sheriff says a levy break no longer poses a danger. the levee began leaking yesterday morning just north of clear lake in land that will be restored as wetland. eight homes in the area could have been flooded. however, state prison inmates working with the department of public works successfully sured up that levee this morning. >> state has agreed to battle a nonnative plant in discovery bay after pressure from local leaders. a plant used in home aquariums has clogged the waters for over a decade. next month, the department of boating and waterways will apply a pesticide that state officials say will control, but won't kill the weed. the cost, $2,000 an acre per year. >>> well we have a lot to talk about when it comes to the weather. over to bill martin for what we can expect tonight. bill. >> the latest radar showing rain in the north bay. there are showers everywhere else, but the real significant heavy rain north of the bay bridge right now. those showers shou

item, former massachusetts governor mitt romney. he passed a state health insurance reform law that some believe mirrors elements of obama care. tea party patriarchs founder mark meckler is convinced that the g.o.p. 2012 candidate will have to pass the tea party test. >> the american people will identify with that's right party values, it's an acknowledgement they have to connect with the tea party. if they don't, they don't have a chance. >> is that a bum wrap against romney, there's federal funding or something wrong with his massachusetts plan that will inhibits a big turnout for him? you have read romney's book ere he explains in detail for about 10 pages what the massachusetts health plan is that he introduced? >> i haven't read the book but i don't think you need to in the political debate because he's been pinged already so such so that hess backing away from it. >> you made trade off the error? >> they doesn't try to explain what his policy was. he says it was different and let's move on. he doesn't want to own his own polic

. -- and confident governor for the governor of massachusetts, mitt romney has run was before. that is a huge a advantage. you know where all the states are and what order they come in. he ran once before and he would be a serious candidate. >> who do love as a candidate? who would you want to see run d win the republican nomination and become president of united states? who is the tree candidate? >> oh, dear, because my job is to make sure they take the pledge i work with all of them on taxes and spending, i will not have that kind of pronouncements now or later. i presume i will cheerfully support the one who wins the republican nomination and pledges not to raise taxes and will be opposed to obama. beyond that, i want to cheerfully work with each one of them. >> let me turn back to budget members. let's look at the 2012 budget resolution. budget chairman paul ryan, a republican, says he will try to tackle medicare and medicaid. is that wise politically tax can be done? >> with a republican house, a divided senate, and a democratic president, i don't believe it is possible to

again, mitt romney is a friend of mine. in fact, we looked at the massachusetts nod the -- massachusetts model when we started out. it didn't work for utah. it one in the best interest. there's probably pros and cons. it's not a matter of he's right and i'm wrong, as we work together as states, we can find solution. of we talk about what does the health care reform message? what is the issue? i don't think the public understands. universal access, quality of care, affordability? probably all of the above. we are attracting with the affordable health care act with one area. i don't know that it helps with the cost controls measures. >> well, and i appreciate that answer. and governor patrick, and then governor barbour. >> i'm really interested in that idea, congressman. we have about 220,000 who get their coverage through our connector, our version of the exchange. i think that compares to about 1500, am i right in utah? >> about 1,000. >> about 1,000. so it's a slightly different scale. because we are trying to -- because w

mitt romney, new gingrich, brass tim pawlenty. that is it. >> the last word. thanks. see you next week. >> for a transcript, log onto "inside washington.

in governor mitt romney, republican, working together with a democratic state legislature and democratic united states senator ted kennedy and a broad coalition of business and health care leaders, labor, patient advocates came together to invent our reform bill and then stuck together to adjust it as we have gone along to refine it. that bill was an expression of shared values of our belief that health care is a public good and that everyone in massachusetts deserves access to it. so from massachusetts the affordable care act is familiar, like a wall it improves health security for all our citizens. it takes a hybrid approach that leverages the best of the government, nonprofits and private industries and with president obama's leadership it was developed and supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders and advocates who understood that our public health and economic competitiveness demanded action. the affordable care act is also cost-effective. according to the congressional budget office, the act would reduce the federal deficit by $124 billion through 2019, and by more than $1 tri

barbour criticized mitt romney, but i know that he got thankfully for that, but i know that he gets a lot of criticism, and he was the one that basically came up with this idea as a governor of the time in any case. i want to ask about the community health centers because this is another case. when i was here and george bush, the second george bush was president he pushed for community health centers and this is going to be our answer for people who didn't have coverage. now we see in the c.r. community centers are cut by 1.3 billion for the president's request and a little practical extension to the community health centers. in your state, massachusetts, you would lose 5 million in the community health center funds being used to provide care for nearly 90,000 of your residence. i had a community health center the was funded in the recovery act wrote me a letter saying now that they have to close the door at the c.r. becomes law. so, you know, how is your affair if the funds are cut off? >> the centers are we if we don't have medicaid or the medicaid gets cut back people at least can

done the exact same thing paling is the most recent politician to visit israel but visits from mitt romney mike huckabee and haley barbour have made many analysts wonder if this is the new path to the white house perhaps the neo-cons held some kind of a secret seminar telling any of the potential republican contenders the weapon you need to do to win the g.o.p. what they need to do to win the g.o.p. ticket and we don't know for sure but i think this is how we see the republican hopefuls traveling the first stop is israel our efforts to strengthen u.s. ties with the country obviously remain a top priority booster foreign policy chops all proving or lesions to israel then you had back to the united states where new hampshire usually ends up in the spotlight and sure this is looking ahead but it seems that a candidate if they can do well in the primaries in new hampshire and they've got a good chance for about iowa they could do well with new hampshire and iowa and you've got the primaries in the bag so first stop israel next stop the primaries it's the road to the white house straight throug

vice president and mitt romney betty were just part of major progressions for the upcoming visit all barack obama later this year and another pressing issue on the agenda was the levy any she has the u.s. is now considering imposing a no fly zone over libya. russia strongly opposes that moscow's it's against international intervention in what it believes is the levy under massacre and the u.s. is now seeking for russia's support for action in e.v.a.'s as russia has a veto on the year's curity council that means that without russia saying yes to the no fly zone plan this plan could not be enforced or for more insight on the talks and what the might mean apart relations between the u.s. and russia are now joined by democrat strategist chris is in washington thanks so much for joining us here on r.t. let's talk about the libyan issue what do you see as the stumbling blocks in relations between the two over the issue there in libya. well i think just as the united states is cautious sometimes about russia in maybe being expansionist i think that russia has a right to be cautious about th

another likely candidate, mitt romney, used a weekend appearance in new hampshire to attack a more traditional target -- president obama and his health care law. >> one thing i would never do is usurp the constitutional power of states with a one size fits all federal takeover. i would repeal obamacare. >> rick klein, as always, keeping watch in washington. it seems so early to talk about all this, but four years ago, where were we? >> reporter: 17 candidates four years ago at this stage. one of them had already dropped out. this time around, there are only two presidential exploratory committees that have been formed. hardly at the top of anyone's short list. >> but 17 this time four years ago. so, what's the differences? >> the conventional wisdom on how you pay for a campaign has really flipped on its head. it used to be, you got in early to raise as much as you could early on. now candidates are staying out so they don't spend money early on. they try to save their resources for when it counts. >> all right, rick klein, thank you. >>> when we come back on the broadcast tonight, the future