paul steinhauser has more for us. good morning, paul. >> good morning, christi. as the supreme court hears two high profile cases involving the hot button social issue. a week ago republican senator rob portman of ohio changed his mind on a subject. here's what he told our dana bash. >> my son came to jane, my wife and i, told us that he was gay. and that launched an interesting process for me, which was kind of rethinking my position. talking to my pastor and other religious leaders and going through a process of at the end changing my position on the issue. i now believe that people ought to have the right to get married. >> and earlier this week hillary clinton announced her support of same sex marriage. so what do you think? according to our cnn/orc poll, a majority support same sex marriage and that number's been on the rise. but our survey indicated a wide partisan divide with democrat and independent supportive and republican oppose. there's a wide generational divide with younger people but only minority of seniors support same sex marriage. when it comes

paul steinhauser joins us. good to see you, not on the campaign trail.were offered a preview of the plan. let's take a look and then we'll talk. >> it will include hundreds of people, across the country, from coast to coast, hispanic, african-american, asian communities, talking about our party, talking about our brand, talking about what they believe in, going to community events, going to swearing-in ceremonies, being a part of the community on an ongoing basis, paid for by the republican national committee to make the case for our party and our candidates. >> $10 million campaign just for one year. paul, outreach is one thing. but is this all about delivering a message or is is it about modifying that message to make it more appealing to minority voters. >> the republican party chairman has been talking a lot about the report. it sounds like it's less about changing principles or policies but more about marketing, that's what is tound like. and the chairman also said they need this branding and this marketing not just in the couple of months leading u

cnn's political editor paul steinhauser says new polls show a reevaluation for the party may be justtime. >> reporter: hey, fred, it is a top-to-bottom review by the republican party about what went wrong at last november's leak and how to fix things. republican national committee report comes out tomorrow. >> i'll announce the specific actions that we're taking on monday morning. it will be big and i promise you all it will be bold. >> reporter: and it seems the republican party may need a makeover. in a recent cbs news poll, only 3 in 10 said they had a favorable view of the gop. 16 points lower than that of the democratic party. this week marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the iraq war. nbc news/"wall street journal" has the most recent sum bers on the conflict. nearly 6 out of 10 in that poll from january said the war wasn't worth it. president barack obama heads to the mideast this week. . >> the president will travel to the region and have very important meetings with leader in israel, with leaders in jordan and with leaders in the west bank. >> reporter: as he gets re

cnn's political editor paul steinhauser checks out some new polls that show there is support for somehey, fred. president barack obama heads to colorado this week to tout that state's new gun control measures as he tries to convince congress to pass a law of its own. >> this is our best chance in more than a decade to take common sense steps that will save lives. >> reporter: when congress gets back to east eer recess, the na will move ahead on a bill that includes expanding background checks for gun sales. there's strong public support for such background checks. 9 in 10 in a new cbs news poll said they back them and there was no partisan divide. with democrats, independents and even republicans overwhelmingly in favor. but the bill could face a tough go of it in the democratic cold senate. that same cbs poll and a recent cnn survey suggest that overall support for stricter gun laws is fading. 3 1/2 months after the horrific shootings at a connecticut elementary school. that's a point not lost on the president. >> the entire country was shot. the entire pledged we would do something

paul steinhauser is back with us. joining us now from cpac. a lot of buzz around sarah palin, of course, paul. so what have you heard so far this morning besides that? >> well, speaking right now is michele bachmann from minnesota who you remember she ran for the republican presidential nomination. she's talking right now. a couple minutes ago, scott walker the republican governor of wisconsin was talking and he got a big -- a big realization. the future of the party is not going to come from here in washington but rather the state houses from the republican governors, there are 30 of them right now. take a listen to what scott walker had to say. >> there are now in america some 30 states that have republican governors and republican legislatures. that's the good news. the good news is we have success and it's happening in our states and we could learn from that to tell our friends and colleagues in washington how to move forward. to be successful in the states, we have to be optimistic. we have to be relevant. and most importantly, we have to

cnn senior political editor paul steinhauser takes a look at what you think of the gridlock in washington a lot of you don't like the forced spending cuts. in a recent poll, they said they're a bad idea. with just 1 in 5 saying the cuts known in here in washington as a sequester are good a idea. >> washington sure isn't making it easy. >> neither the republicans in congress nor the president scoring well on this issue. they disapprove of the job congressional republicans are doing on federal spending. with a slight majority giving president obama a thumbs down. both sides are blaming each other. >> none of this is necessary. it's happening because of a choice republicans in congress have made. >> the house has laid out a plan to avoid the sequester. i would hope that the senate would act. >> whom do you blame? more fingers seem to be pointing to republicans in congress than the president, at least right now. that's according to a pew research center "washington post" survey. we'll see if that changes over time. and finally, most people the forced spending cuts will have an impact on the e

cnn's political editor paul steinhauser checks out some new polls and what they say about changing levelsf the most hotly debated issues in the country. >> hey, fred. same-sex marriage will be in the political spotlight this week as the supreme court hears two high-profile cases involve the hot-button social issue. a week ago republican senator rob portman of ohio changed his mind on the subject telling our dana bash -- >> my son came to jane, my wife and i, told us that he was gay and that launched an interesting process for me which was rethinking my position, talking to my pastor and other religious leaders and going through a process of at the end changing my position on the issue. i now believe that people ought to have the right to get married. >> reporter:nd earlier this week, hillary clinton announced her support of same-sex marriage. so what do you think? according to our cnn/orc poll conducted just last weekend a majority support same-sex marriages. that number's been on the rise over the past few years but our survey indicated a wide partisan divide with democrats and independe

. >> thank you, paul steinhauser, appreciate it. >> thanks, don. >> coming up, on his first sunday asope francis made one thing clear. he seems to breaking the mold throwing protocol and predictability to the wind. i can't believe your mom let you take her car out. this is awesome! whoooo! you're crazy. go faster! go faster! go faster! go faster! no! stop...stop... (mom) i raised my son to be careful... hi, sweetie. hi, mom. (mom) but just to be safe... i got a subaru. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. good afternoon. chase sapphire. (push button tone) this is stacy from springfield. oh whoa. hello? yes. i didn't realize i'd be talking to an actual person. you don't need to press "0," i'm here. re

. >> thank you, paul steinhauser, appreciate it. >> thanks, don. >> coming up, on his first sunday asontiff pope francis made one thing clear. he seems to breaking the mold, throwing protocol and predictability to the wind. surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. >>> just a few more hours left on st. patrick's day. we've seen some great parades this week and worldwide. it was cold today in dublin, ireland, but the irish spirit and likely some irish whiskey get parade watchers warm. a quarter of a million lined the streets of dublin. ♪ green beer was flowing in boston. it was their 112th st. patrick's day parade. irish heritage runs deep in boston, and it showers,

today there's another big name on tap, cnn political editor paul steinhauser, who is the headliner todayiner coming up in a few hours, joe, is sarah palin, i think you remember her of course, the 2008 vice presidential nominee on the republican side, the former alaska governor. joe, she did not have a lot of impact last year in 2012 but she's still a rock star among a lot of people on the right at cpac, the conservative political action conference, largest annual gathering of conservative leaders across the country. lot of people will be interested to hear what she has to say. couple of the big speakers, scott walker, the governor of wisconsin has become a recent rock star on the right as well as ben carson, the neurosurgeon from baltimore who has become popular in the last couple of weeks, not a politician but he's on the straw poll ballot. we get the results of the straw poll ballot later today. cpac is the first real cattle call in the race for the white house in 2016 so we'll dissect those numbers when we get them. 23 people on that straw poll ballot, joe. >> just to be clear the rea

political editor paul steinhauser looks at where the law stands today and where it gained in popularitye signature domestic achievement of president obama's first term, but the health care law known officially as the affordable care act and nicknamed obama care quickly hurt the president and his party at the ballot box partially fueled by opposition to the measure. >> the republicans will take control of the house of representatives. >> republicans won big in the 2010 midterms taking back the house and cutting into the democrats majority in the senate. last year the supreme court upheld the law and the president won re-election over mitt romney and even after all of that many republicans would still like to see the law go away. romney's running mate congressman paul ryan calls for the law's repeal in his new budget and here is what he told wolf blitzer. >> we think it is very dangerous for medicine care and we think we have a better idea. >> the senate that supports the controversial law is edging up according to the orc poll from january. our survey found a wide partisan divide with de

paul steinhauser has the stories you may have missed. >> fred, same sex marriage, gun control and immigration, dominated the headlines this week and that means some stories were overlooked. that's okay. i've got your back. >> i loved being at the university of kentucky. >> ashleigh judd may have loved being a senator from kentucky as well, but that's a role the actress won't be playing any time soon. judd announced she won't launch a democratic channel to mitch mcconnell, the top republican in the chamber. >> the next election is 20 months away. the last thing we need is washington, d.c. vetting our candidates. >> sarah palin is back. just two weeks after her well received speech at a major conservative conference, her political action committee is out with a new video. >> time for we the people. >> the message appears to be the former alaska governor and republican vice presidential nominee will be a player in next year's mid-term election, back to the future for bob barr? >> i decided to jump back in the fray because we desperately need some experience and some leadership in washington. >>

cnn political editor paul steinhauser explains why that anybody popular with the rest of the country.ek, president barack obama took a bunch of republican senators out to dinner at a trendy restaurant. the next day, he had a top house republican over for lunch at the white house. regardless of the motives this will probably well with you at home. check this out. more than three quarters of people questioned in a cbs news poll out this past week said the president and democrats in congress should compromise rather than stick with their positions when it comes to fixing the country's fiscal mess. 73% said the same thing about congressional republicans. as for the blame game over the forced spending cuts, americans are pointing fingers at both parties. 38% in that same poll say they blame republicans for failing to avert the cuts. 33% say they point more fingers at the president and congressional democrats. and guess what. one in five said both sides are equally guilty. it seems the president's approval rating has taken a little bit of a hit because of the cuts. but his numbers still tow