mr. vander plaats would like some money from rick santorum. moines register saying haven't vander plaats had asked for money in promoting the endorsement and he said he'd like to have the money to do television advertisements to promote his personal endorsement of santorum and he urges santorum backers to contribute money for that purpose. cnn's christine romans asked mr. vander plaats about the endorsement for cash thing yesterday. >> it's been reported in the "des moines register" you that had asked him we would like money, maybe a million dollars, to help get out there and advertise our support for you. explain to me that relationship. >> first of all, absolutely not. we would never ask a candidate -- and by the way, when you endorse rick santorum, you probably should also know that you're not asking him for a million dollars. we would never ask a campaign or a candidate for funds. >> we hear that loud and clear. he would never ask a candidate for funds. but you might want to try telling that to rick santorum. because that same day rick san

mr. vander plaats. that is giving some momentum to santorum as well. positive energy as well as a void -- >> whatever is driving it, romney ought to be paying santorum, because he's the perfect blocking guy. a much bigger threat is if rick perry made a comeback. he has spent a ton of money, and aside from this horrible debates, he is a fairly plausible national candidate. >> perry's numbers are rising. >> i know that, but if it wasn't for santorum, his numbers were really rising -- would be really rising and he would be. a. >> colby, could the emergence of rick santorum and the success of ron paul be a good argument for keeping the caucuses in iowa -- both of them have that traditional role. 99 counties, meeting upon meeting, retail voting -- is that going to pay off? >> it is always helpful. whether it is the primary or caucus is, it allows us to have a good look at the candidates and know who they are, what they are all about. iowa caucus is important. i don't think people ought to disparage it at all. what we are seeing that is really interesting is

mr. vander plaats. that is what is giving him some momentum as well. it is positive energy as well as a void -- >> whatever is driving it, romney ought to be paying a santorum, because he is the perfect blocking guy did a much bigger threat would be if rick perry made a comeback. he as a ton of money, and aside from this horrible it debates, he is a fairly plausible national candidate. it is a lucky thing for romney -- >> perry's numbers are rising. >> i know that, but if it were not for santorum, his numbers would be really rising. >> colby king, the emergence of rick santorum and the success of ron paul is a great argument for keeping the caucuses as far as iowa is concerned, because both of them have followed the traditional role, the root of going to 99 counties, meeting upon meeting, we tell voting. is that going to pay off? >> it is helpful. whether it is a primary or caucus, it forces and allows us to have a good look at the candidates and know who they are, what they are all about. the iowa caucus is important. i don't think people ought to dis

two iowa conservative leaders, bob vander plaats with the family leader group, and also chuck hurley chose to support santorum and we understand that mral there in iowa apparently there are reports out that he asked your campaign to persuade you to drop out and support rick santorum or rick perry. what can you tell us about that? >> well, i did receive a phone call and i've been polling above -- above the ricks and so there would be absolutely no reason for me to drop out plus i'm the only one that actually won anything in this state. plus we -- i have so much support here. i have the former president of the family leader who also has come out and endorsed me. i have the head of concerned women for america in iowa that have come out to support me. i have over 100 evangelical pastors that have come out in public support. they had a caravan going across iowa last week telling them i'm the candidate that best represents the views of the evangelical community. i have the most support in iowa from that community. >> some people find this phone call troubling because it was described as a weird phone call. do you think it's the place of one

mr. bob vander plaats will be a guest on this program in about 45 minutes. this is from "the national journal" this morning. sorry, this is from yesterday evening. then, republicans only for this first segment of "washington journal." who is the most conservative candidate in the race? anthony, a republican in palm beach, florida. caller: good morning. host: what do you think? i really think it's -- caller: i really think it is rick santorum. he was put out by the liberals and democrats in the 1990's because of his views on abortion and homosexuality -- he is against homosexual marriage. he is a true conservative christian and i believe christian america will vote for him, especially iowans. host: if you were in iowa, would you vote for him? caller: absolutely. my second would be perry but i think those are the only two candidates christian america would vote for. host: and by the way, we set aside our third line for iowa residents. and maybe get a little bit of your experience with the candidates traveling. but here are the most recent polls. this is iowa s