will be the adversity and you have to have the wherewithal to stay the course, and both teams, particularly ohioshown that quality here with the big ten championship. a piece for ohio state and an outright one for michigan state on the line. the second time he got it. >> clark: big time. sometimes, you don't have to jump high if you jump quick and he beat everybody on that second jumper. >> verne: the buckeyes lead on the road by two. michigan state undefeated at home this year. 17-0. draymond green said, "i'm not finished." so now, the two stars with back-to-back baskets, and the noise level increases. >> verne: back outside. thomas. good look. beautiful. so well done. austin thornton got lost and jared sullinger was patient enough and unselfish enough to give the ball to the guy who had the best shot. log oking for financial advic. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice fro

particularly ohio. i think if he can it will go all the way to the convention, i think there's no incentive to get out of the race. however, if mitt romney can win in ohio and can win some other states, nice bucket of states virginia which is a slam dunk for him on super tuesday, i think it will go a long way to convince republicans he is inevitable whether it will be that day or the next month or so. >> it seems that way. of course governor romney won in arizona and michigan this week. last week by three points in michigan where he had the support of college-educated, wealthier voters and senator santorum got the support of those making under $100,000 a year. what's your take on the distinction of the voters? how does i that impact the general election? there is a clear pattern in every state so far that mitt romney does well with older voters, wealthy voters. where he struggles are with social conservatives and with those working-class republicans. that's where rick santorum has found his sweet spot,

particularly ohio. if he can, i think the race goes all the way to the convention. newt gingrich, rick santelli, mitt romney, ron paul will have no incentive whatsoever to get out of this race. however, if mitt romney can win in ohio, can win some other states, nice bucket of states beyond virginia which is a slam dunk for him, on super tuesday, i think it will go a long way to convincing republicans he, indeed, is inevitable, whether it's going to happen that day or over the course of the next month or so. >> it seems that way. of course governor romney won in arizona and michigan this week. last week by three points in michigan where he had the support of college-educated, wealthier voters and senator rick santelli getting the support of those making under $100,000 a year. what's your take on the class distinctions of the voters in the republican primary bat until how does that impact the general election? >> there's been a pretty clear pattern in every single state so far that mitt romney does well with older voters, wealthy voters. where he struggles are with so

if he loses particularly ohio and tennessee, it raises again the whole series of questions about whether he can make the closing case, whether he can be the closer in this race. if not, i think he's still the likely nominee even if that circumstance because there's no credible alternative. but it's going to raise all the recriminations we've seen before with talk of hopeless alternatives. it's not good for him. >> woodruff: what about santorum? what is he looking at tonight? what does he need. >> he a really tough few weeks attacking john kennedy, attacking college education. he didn't really lead into this very strongly. he has real challenges about whether he can have an effective campaign. he's not competing in some places because they didn't file slates. he also has a question whether he can appeal beyond a fairly narrow range. ohio is much bigger for him than it is for romney. if he can't win ohio and he repeats what happened in michigan, there's very little justification for his candidacy. >> woodruff: what about santorum? agree ohio is more important. >> i think for rick santorum

particularly in ohio because they thought that a decisive win in ohio, would help them close the deal on this republican nomination. if they could start making the case, that the other candidates won't be able to catch up mathematically. but that argument becomes much more difficult, without the decisive victory that might still pull it out. as mitt romney gets on the stage behind me as he did a short time ago, tomorrow we will get up and start again. it was not the resounding message they were hoping to deliver, with all of the national cameras there trained on the stage. mitt romney was hoping to pit it back to the economy, back to the race against this president. but tomorrow, he still faces rick santorum. >> and in a real fight there, david. thanks very much. >>> david muir mentioning the math there. the delicates are getting amassed. we're going to jonathan karl at santorum headquarters in ohio. jon, there's math. and then, there's the actual story that people are telling in their votes. and it's that that rick santorum wants to concentrate on. >> reporter: absolutely. and they a

a look at last night's exit polling show's the candidates strengths and weaknesses, particularly in ohio, a bellwether state for the general election. 51% of ohio republicans said mitt romney had the best chance of beating president obama in november, 24% said it was santorum. the economy a top concern, 26% said the deficit was the top issue. voters with an economic focus backed romney by an eight-point margin over santorum. gingrich won 18% of voters who said the economy was number one. ron paul in single digits. romney struggled in some areas. nearly 40% of ohio republicans saying romney not conservative enough. santorum led the way in that demographic as the most conservative. as well as with evangelicals, 47% of whom backed santorum. this all in the state of ohio. relidgeth, an important factor in tennessee's primaries where 43% said it mattered a great deal that the candidate shared their beliefs. those voters went to rick santorum by a margin of 3-1. santorum's win in tennessee was critical, helping to offset romney's charge. it was a convincing win by santorum in tennessee, a stat

if rick santorum was basing so much of his campaign, particularly in ohio, on those social issues, i'mng a tough time figuring out how he did so well there, particularly since he was outspent in the advertising. the negative ads were just trouncing him. what the heck happened there? >> what the heck happened is that mitt romney continues to have the same liabilities he's had since we sat back here and talked about the iowa caucus. throughout every state, we've talked about the same set of liabilities. the republican base doesn't like him, doesn't believe him, doesn't trust him, and can't relate to him. other than that, he's doing fine with them, right? those are all serious problems. >> it just defies logic. other than, ruben, i will give you this. on that little chart i showed you with economy, budget, abortion, immigration, electability wasn't on it. >> look at the polling. you've seen the polling. they'll ask a question about does he believe what he's saying? typically, what republicans say is that mitt romney will say anything to get elected. that's why they have chosen anything bu

the popular vote may not necessarily dictate who gets the delegates particularly in ohio. it is possible that rick santorum could win the popular vote in ohio and romney could win the delegate problem. >>shepard: busy day for you and the election team. president obama held the first press conference, rather, news conference of the entire year today on super tuesday. the white house insists that was a coincidence. president obama laid out a plan to reduce mortgage payments for millions of americans and provide relief from veterans and service member who fell victim to bad lending practices. but once the president began taking questions the focus changed to our role not middle east and the growing tension between iran and israel. the president stressed we can still avoid a new war with the rogue nation. >> we have a window of opportunity where it can be resolved. that is not just my view but the view of our top intelligence officials, the view of top israeli intelligence officials. >>shepard: and the white house and european union agree to open the door for new talks with ir

. >> voubl, very important states, particul particularly, tennessee, ohio. as far as you're concerned, ohio the most important? >> ohio is the most important. bellwether state. if you're the republican to win the presidency, you become the nominee, you have to win ohio. it has all kinds of demographics you like to appeal to. >> blue collar voters? >> blue collar voters. >> the problem for romney in ohio is the same problem he's been having all along in almost every primary except in this south, which is with people who strongly identify with the party, people who self-identify as very conservative and something we're seeing, particularly in the south, is people who believe religion matters a great deal to their vote. we see this in tennessee, see it in oklahoma. >> you're suggesting there's a mormon question? >> i think i'm beginning to see, at least particularly in the south, there really may be a mormon question or -- >> just as there was a catholic question for jack kennedy. >> or santorum appeals to evangelicals and born again because of his positions on

he did particularly well in ohio managing to stay competitive there as well as winning tennessee, oklahoma and north dakota. here's what both men had to say after the votes had been counted. >> on november 6th, we are going to stand united not only having won an election but having save add future. >> this was a big night tonight. lots of states. we are going to win a few, we are going to lose a few, but as it looks right now we are going to get at least a couple of gold medals and a whole tassel full of silver metals. >> newt gingrich took georgia. that ended up paying off for him. it will win a lot of delegates. he has a strong showing in the south but he face as bit of an uphill battle. then there is ron paul. he was hoping to bupull off one victory. he came in second in a number of states. he says he still managed to get his message out there. it is a resounding one. nobody managed to stake the claim on the nomination yet. more than 1,000 delegates are needed to do that. we will continue on with more contests and some of the bigger states are coming. >> ron paul did pick up a few deleg

ohio. as you know, particularly in eastern ohio where we were, north eastern ohio, there's a lot of influence and pennsylvania media and so on. they know rick santorum. wee have a natural advantage there. i would say even if governor romney does not win ohio, he is likely to win the plurality of delegates because it turns out that rick santorum did not qualify to get delegates by congressional district in three of the congressional districts and a few others he didn't as well get all the delegates, and he is 18 delegates down to start with. i think it will be a good night for mitt romney, whether he wins or not. the exit polling indicates that mitt romney may win, but i think i going to be very, very close, but i think mitt romney will end up with more delegates than anybody else, and that will just adds to that delegate. he has twice as many as anyone. at some point it becomes inevitable that mitt romney is the nominee simply by the delegate count. >> ohio senator, we appreciate your time, as always. >> thanks, larry. good to be with you yesterday. >> the polls close at the top of the hour.

ohio. in fact, the most strategic region at the time was in western pennsylvania, particularly at the forks which make the beginning and mark the beginning of the ohio river where the allegheny and the monongahela rivers meet to form the ohio. and there the french established a fort in 1754 called ft. duquesne, and the british colonials in virginia were very concerned about that. they would not easily tolerate that. virginia claimed boundaries stretching to the south sea based on its charter from the crown back in 1609. the virginians were very much expansionists. and leading men of virginia had already formed a land company which got british permission to colonize this area. and if a certain number of colonists could be situated there, let's say 100 families, that company, by right from the king, could receive a grant of up to 500,000 acres. so there was much at stake. it was not only in the interests of ordinary british colonials in colonies such as virginia that were at stake, but also the interests of a land company such as the ohio company that wanted to expand settlement and do so in

if he does well this super tuesday, and particularly this evening in ohio, this could be the night whene seals the deal on this nomination, making it nearly mathematically impossible for the other candidates to catch up. late today, mitt romney, and his wife, ann, coming back to their home, massachusetts, to vote in belmont. our cameras trained on their every move there. we caught a moment when he was holding his ballot. he smiles at his wife. this is a man who has running for president for six years. declaring last june in neighboring new hampshire. we saw the wave of the crowd. and everything that followed. the holding of the babies, the parades, the debates, the state fairs. 21 states. 360 events. and the debates themselves, diane, 32 hours, 31 minutes of debates. the governor saying, too hard to predict what will happen tonight. but we can predict what he will have for dinner. his son, tagg, making dinner. chicken marsala, we're told. i have a question for you, diane. i'm curious what's on the menu in ohio. >> jon, what about that? >> reporter: well, no big dinner plans. the santoru

pleased with the momentum they were seeing, those poll numbers heading into super tuesday, particularly in ohioelection. instead what they saw was a real squeaker with rick santorum, a race that was so close that they weren't able to say look, look at ohio, we're able to reach those rust belt republicans, we were able to prove that in a crucial general election state we would have a decisive victory. the romney campaign hoped to be able to make the argument that it no longer adds up the math for the republican candidates in this race. they can still make that argument. it simply doesn't sound as strong with words from the governor saying tomorrow we wake up and we start again. >> we've seen enough of this president over the last three years to know that we don't need another five of this president. that's for sure. this president's run out of ideas. he's run out of excuses. and in 2012 we're going to get him out of the out -- out of the white house. >> reporter: his wife, ann romney, standing there beside him. she was talking about the women she hears from all over this country telling her that

they are concerned with energy in particularly here in ohio. we have two big shale fines here. his focus. that will be his focus going forward. once you get through the primary process, there will be a focus on the general election and that's going to be who has the better plan for the deficit and the debt and the economy. it's all going to be about jobs and the economy and the fiscal issues. that's, i think, where mitt romney is going to do well. and i think most independent voters here in ohio are going to agree with him. >> let's come back and talk about this once the cloud has passed. i think it will be decided depending on the state of the economy. thank you rob portman. now we're joined by david corn. he's the washington bureau chief. this is the a cloud over the republicans head for the reason they don't want to attack rush limbaugh. if they said this guy is a horse's ass. he shouldn't be talking about anything. >> they sold their soul to rush limbaugh many years ago. and now they can't even buy it back. it's probably not worth that much these days. you know, remember ba

they are concerned with energy in particularly here in ohio.want to develop our energy resources. we have these two big shale finds here and this means jobs. that's his focus. that will be his focus going forward. once you get through the primary process as we saw with the democratic process last time and now we're seeing it with the republican process, there will be a focus on the general election and that's going to be who has the better plan for the deficit and the debt and the economy. it's all going to be about jobs and the economy and the fiscal issues. that's, i think, where mitt romney is going to do well. and i think most independent voters here in ohio are going to agree with him. >> let's come back and talk about this once the cloud has passed. i agree with you. i think this election will be decided come the first week of november, depending on the state of the economy. thank you, senator rob portman, of ohio. now we're joined by msnbc political analyst david corn, the washington bureau chief editor for mother jones. this is the a cl

ohio. particularly the economy is a big focus there. that was one of the things that drew voters to the polls in 2010. that ousted a lot of democratic members of congress there. certainly you're see ago lot of people show up to say that the economy is their top issue. a lot of those people are picking mitt romney who made that the center piece of his campaign there. it's important to point out that ohio is very much a two-man race. santorum and romney were competing for those delegates there. gingrich and ron paul sort of left that state to them. it's probably going to be fairly close tonight. >> lots of good economic news for the president and for his party over the past few weeks. yet today you check to see what the dow did. down over 200 points. why? because of concerns about greece. the economic future is very uncertain. it's been good news for the president the last few weeks. who knows where it will be over the next few months. that's why both pears need to be worried. >> ifill: we know georgia. what are we watching for the rest o

coming and i think we need to do the proverbable hat tip to you on how this is turning out, particularly in ohioatulations, craig. >> well, i put my tinfoil hat on in the south carolina primary when i talked about it but i think now i can wear a regular hat. >> i think tinfoil is in, my friend. craig crawford of craigcrawford.com. thank you, craig. >> good to be here. >> we'll continue with sam seeder and governor eliot spitzer as we wrap up the countdown coverage of republican's super tuesday. >> ohio still too close to call. mitt romney looks like he's winning. idaho is not ohio. sam seder, from ring of fire and the program report, joins us this evening. >> good evening. >> not a good evening for mitt romney. there are many other different ways to say that. what does this mean going forward? how do you see this further handicapping in the other sense of the word the republican race? >> well, you know, i think actually we had an insight into in this weekend. this weekend, george will came out and grover norquist both came out and said we should focused on the house and senate races. tonight, i

you can bet that issue is going to come up again in the election, particularly in states like ohio and michigan. >> e.j. dionne, always great to have you here with us. >>> he signed the stand your ground law in florida but jeb bush ant talking about trayvon martin. and next i'll explain why the former governor is missing a real opportunity to lead. stay tuned. >>> up next, jeb bush has weighed in on the presidential race this week but silent entree von martin, because it is a law he signed. >>> and the race between tammy duckworth and tea party congressman, joe walsh. tammy joins me later. >>> in the wake of the killing >>> in the wake of the killing of trayvon martin, some legislators have come forward and expressed their dismay over the total failure of the state's stand your ground law. it allowed george zimmerman to kill an unarmed teenager, claim self-defense and walk free. one person we have yet to hear from is former governor jeb bush. he signed the stand your ground law in 2005 with an nra lobbyist at his side. here's what he had to say at the time. >> it's common sense to allo

independent women are the ones who decide the elections particularly in ohio, of michigan, of floridao the real question is, what does that independent women voter think about the president and/or mitt romney. >> could this be the first -- they're telling me i have to go. i want to ask this question. might this be the first time that the cultural issues work for the democrats in this case. typically, they're the wedge that works for the republicans. coming up, president obama is going to face a pivotal moment for his own reelection later this morning in the much anticipated foreign policy speech. we'll be taking that live. what's at stake for the president? much more when we come back. law. grass gurus. doers. here's to more saturdays in the sun. and budgets better spent. here's to turning rookies - into experts, and shoppers into savers. here's to picking up. trading up. mixing it up. to well-earned muddy boots. and a lot more - spring per dollar. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. show the yard who's boss, with this cordless black and decker trimmer, just $

you can bet that issue is going to come up again in the election, particularly in states like ohio andchle.j.dionne, always have you here with us. >>> he signed the stand your ground law in florida but jeb bush ant talking about trayvon martin. and next i'll explain why the former governor is missing a real opportunity to lead. stay tuned. we've got more than 100 years worth of energy, right here. [announcer:] who's right? they all are. visit powerincooperation.com. >>> up next, jeb bush has weighed in on the presidential race this week but silent entree von martin, because it is a law he signed. >>> and the race between tammy duckworth and tea party congressman, joe walsh. tammy joins me later. se of chil® gives up to eight hours of fever relief. allowing your little one to get back to building a better afternoon. children's advil.® relief you can trust. children's advil.® or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's

you can bet that issue is going to come up again in the election, particularly in states like ohio andj.dionne, always great to have you here with us. >>> he signed the stand your ground law in florida but jeb bush ant talking about trayvon martin. and next i'll explain why the former governor is missing a real opportunity to lead. stay tuned. from nature valle. crispy granola, layered with creamy peanut butter or rich dark chocolate flavor. 90 calories. 100% natural. and nature...approves. granola thins. from nature valley. nature at its most delicious. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i came to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what

particularly in a key swing state like ohio.he can win them, place s like ohio that are important in a general election context, it make beliefers out of skeptical conservati conservatives. it will feel like it's inevitable that romney will wrap it up if he wins ohio. he has better organization, better ballot access, so it's hard to see who can knock him off that front-runner perch. again, santorum looks like the one best positioned. newt gingrich not so much. and the only thing i guess newt gingrich can hope for is a win in georgia and another big win to rise again from the dead to say, hey i'm the alternative to mitt romney. tough to see it happening. >> and mitt romney is going trench warfare, delegate by delegate and proved in ohio where santorum was not even in play in three congressional districts to getz delegates. that is a problem, he is is not on the ballot in virginia and neither is newt gingrich and we have the new yorker today, this is the cover of the new corker, you have rick santorum as the dog tied down on the r

if rick santorum was basing so much of his campaign, particularly in ohio, on those social issues, i'mng a tough time figuring out how he did so well there, particularly since he was outspent in the advertising. the negative ads were just trouncing him. what the heck happened there? >> what the heck happened is that mitt romney continues to have the same liabilities he's had since we sat back here and talked about the iowa caucus. throughout every state, we've talked about the same set of liabilities. the republican base doesn't like him, doesn't believe him, doesn't trust him, and can't relate to him. other than that, he's doing fine with them, right? those are all serious problems. >> it just defies logic. other than, ruben, i will give you this. on that little chart i showed you with economy, budget, abortion, immigration, electability wasn't on it. >> look at the polling. you've seen the polling. they'll ask a question about does he believe what he's saying? typically, what republicans say is that mitt romney will say anything to get elected. that's why they have chosen anything bu

>> i see two reasons why ohio is particularly important on super tuesday. key ballot battleground so goes ohio goes the election. last 11 presidencies, they ended up being the winner of election. if john kerry had carried ohio he would have been president kerry. so it's an important state in that respect. but it's an important test of rick santorum, can he win these white-blue collar workers he is able to attract, he says. i think it's very clear test here. we'll see if that is case on tuesday. >> gregg: there may be a systemic problem for santorum. doesn't he e have a delegate problem in terms of slate in ohio which means romney could lose the popular vote in ohio but win more delegates? >> right. i see there is going to be some contest even after what goes on here in ohio. santorum is technically ineligible for quarter of delegates. in december you had to -- it was relatively easy to pass. you had to get six names in delegates but santorum wasn't able to do that. he was focus on iowa. no one thought he had a chance. so all his resources were in iowa. he w