rick santorum aa 30-point winner. and minnesota, caucuses, rick santorum a big winner. paul coming in second and mitt romney coming in third and newt gingrich in fourth. final thoughts from our panel. steve, a.b., and chris charles. hard to believe, almost 2:00 a.m. >> i guess i am struck by the fact that these are not just wipes for rick santorum, but big wins. 18 points in minnesota, 30 points in missouri, 6 points in colorado. those qualify in my view as big wins. newt gingrich's totals are interesting. he wasn't on the ballot in missouri. fourth in minnesota and avoided a fourth-place finish in colorado by only 400 votes, a horrible night for newt gingrich. i don't know how he is going to pick up the phone tomorrow and say, you need to invest in my canned dateidacy at this point. >> i think steve's point about how -- >> how much earlier? it was a long night. [laughter] [overlapping dialogue] >> but i think that his point is that rick santorum needs to wake up tomorrow knowing he will be attacked, you know, around the clock by the romney campaign as the washington in

rick santorum aa 30-point winner. and minnesota, caucuses, rick santorum a big winner.on paul coming in second and mitt romney coming in third and newt gingrich in fourth. final thoughts from our panel. steve, a.b., and chris charles. hard to believe, almost 2:00 a.m. >> i guess i am struck by the fact that these are not just wipes for rick santorum, but big wins. 18 points in minnesota, 30 points in missouri, 6 points in colorado. those qualify in my view as big wins. newt gingrich's totals are interesting. he wasn't on the ballot in missouri. fourth in minnesota and avoided a fourth-place finish in colorado by only 400 votes, a horrible night for newt gingrich. i don't know how he is going to pick up the phone tomorrow and say, you need to invest in my canned dateidacy at this point. >> i think steve's point about how -- >> how much earlier? it was a long night. [laughter] [overlapping dialogue] >> but i think that his point is that rick santorum needs to wake up tomorrow knowing he will be attacked, you know, around the clock by the romney campaign as the washington

rick santorum aa 30-point winner. and minnesota, caucuses, rick santorum a big winner. ron paul coming in second and mitt romney coming in third and newt gingrich in fourth. final thoughts from our panel. steve, a.b., and chris charles. hard to believe, almost 2:00 a.m. >> i guess i am struck by the fact that these are not just wipes for rick santorum, but big wins. 18 points in minnesota, 30 points in missouri, 6 points in colorado. those qualify in my view as big wins. newt gingrich's totals are interesting. he wasn't on the ballot in missouri. fourth in minnesota and avoided a fourth-place finish in colorado by only 400 votes, a horrible night for newt gingrich. i don't know how he is going to pick up the phone tomorrow and say, you need to invest in my canned dateidacy at this point. >> i think steve's point about how -- >> how much earlier? it was a long night. [laughter] [overlapping dialogue] >> but i think that his point is that rick santorum needs to wake up tomorrow knowing he will be attacked, you know, around the clock by the romney campaign as the washingto

rick santorum has one. in iowa the campaign proper for which he needs campaign donors, it spent $22,000 in iowa on ads. $22,000. how much did his billionaire spend on him? $537,000. in iowa. that is how much the rick santorum pac spent. i think we are capable of putting this on a graph, can we try? here we go. this is rick santorum's total campaign spending on ads in iowa compared to what the pac spent, the pac supported by his billionaire. i believe this is to scale, if it is not to scale, i quit this job. i hope you will enjoy the new two hour long "the ed show" or whatever they put on. i think that is to scale. but this is what billionaires can do for you now. you need one, one person you do not need to attract anybody else's money. that is good for rick santorum, because he cannot seem to attract anybody else's money. after his big wins last night, rick santorum went on the cable news morning shows to brag about how thanks to his big night last night, he had raised --. >> one million dollars. >> no, act

this is a nice win for rick santorum in colorado. and it's an important one. >> it's an important win because he'll get the delegates. it will be largely split between santorum and romney. 35% for governor romney and to go back in time, i'm going to blank the telestrator, but remember it's 40%. this is our -- this is 83%. that's a 40. if you go back in time, governor romney cared are the -- carried the state with 60% last time. when he was campaigning against john mccain, john mccain was essentially the nominee at that time. governor romney was making the case you needed a conservative alternative to john mccain, he was too moderate to win the general election. what piece happening in 2012? tonight, rick santorum traveling to all of the states saying you need a conservative alternative to mitt romney. mitt romney is too moderate to win the general election. on this night, general santorum can claim a smashing success. he had already won iowa to begin the process. he had been shut out as the race went to new hampshire, south carolina,

why shouldn't someone like rick santorum make your real run for it now? >> because i think people think that it is close to over. we've sort of seen this before. santorum rising and then voters at large, at him a little more closely thinking he is not conservative enough. and also the romney death star. the super pac which is just hovering in the wings here. just blasting away at him as he starts to rest. >> that romney death star which has been effective in taking on newt gingrich and goaded almost into doing the sail. rick santorum is playing a clever game. he's risen above this negative stuff and insists he will keep doing so. just plows his quite lonely furrow. by staying out of that bitter fray, it is clearly beginning to work. >> he has a nice help a warrior feel to his campaign right now. i mean, i think you can see he is feeling a level of personal vindication about this after having been written off and laughed at all through 2011. i mean, the problem for him is that he has not mounted anything like a presidential campaign. he is not even in the b

rick santorum. rick santorum. full-spectrum conservative, rick santorum is rock solid on values issues, a favorite in the tea party for fighting corruption and taxpayer abuse, more foreign policy credentials than any candidate, and the jobs plan will make an economic super power again. rick santorum, a trusted conservative who gives us the best chance to take back america. >> great ad. so, how big a threat is santorum to romney and how big of a threat would he be to barack obama come november? we have the experts. mark halperin, a senior political analyst for msnbc, and editor for "time" and john heilemann, also an analyst. let me start with a question for both of you. is the white house believing now they might have to face santorum? >> they still think there's a better chance than not they face romney, but they see weakness in romney. they are fully prepared to face santorum. i heard earlier about shifting their focus to santorum. they are well prepared. they are sitting on a bunch of stuff about santorum i'm ce

if the election were there today, rick santorum could pull out. in two weeks' time, the mitt romney resources could roll in and take this thing away from rick santorum, but, again, it depends on a lot of factors here, including how much of a factor is newt gingrich? is he going to be getting 16%, 17%? or will it be 8%, 9%? go ahead. tavis: i was going to ask, how much of this republican infighting, what does it say about mitt romney and his chances to win the nomination and, for that matter, to beat barack obama? and number two, what does it say about the republican party? >> it says that he is somebody who draws the support that he does because he is seen as strong on the economy and strong in terms of being a candidate to take on president obama in the fall, so i think that he is having this drawn-out primary does undermine the second point, that -- if he is having trouble fending off some folks who had their heyday in the republican party a few years ago, then that is not a good indicator of his strength to become president of the united states

rick santorum rarely takes responsibility for extreme rhetoric. last month at a town hall meeting an audience member called president obama a muslim. santorum had nothing say in response. >> he is an avowed muslim. and my question is why isn't something being done to get him out of our government, he has no legal right to be calling himself president. >> well, i'm doing my best to get him out of the government. >> just like today, santorum avoided any responsibility. >> i don't think it's my responsibility, why don't you go out and correct it it's not my responsibility as a candidate to correct everybody who makes a statement that i disagree with. >> meanwhile, santorum's campaign staff could use a little coaching. his press secretari secretary m strange comment to andrea mitchell. >> there is a type of theological secularism, he was referring to the president's policies in terms of the radical islamic policies the president has. >> stuart said she meant to say radical environmental policies, but kind of messed up and said radical islamic policies.

they went 5 for mitt romney, and 2 for rick santorum. , all arapaho county, 4 for gingrich and we also had 15 for romney, 1 for paul and 1 for santorum. a third precinct, 419, arapaho county, 6 for gingrich, 8 for romney, and 10 for santorum. so all the candidates being represented to a degree here so far. 22 precincts in all here in ar r -- aurora, colorado, independents very important in colorado. they make up 1 million 200,000 voters in colorado. many independents say not only do we need to hold our ground and come out enforce in november we have to convince independents to come our way. let's talk to a santorum supporter. you voted for santorum. what do you like about him? >> a strong conservative and more than the others. >> reporter: you're an obama supporter. >> you bet. i want him to beat obama. >> reporter: what do you like about romney? >> i think he's honest and good businessman and can turn obama-care around. >> reporter: you heard it, a smattering of independents in aurora, colorado. >> these are real focus groups because the

they said, rick santorum, really. he's particularly good in some of these caucus states, but we're watching him. then after nevada a caucus state obviously mitt romney won that. they were a little more bullish about their chances. but still had their eye on rick santorum. what they did not expect is that the message would go off the economy -- remember this is how mitt romney got in. i'm a business guy. i know how to create jobs. they thought his resume' perfectly fitted this year. but in the past three weeks, what we've seen is a dynamic where the social issues have come forward. and that is not terra firma for mitt romney. not where he feels comfortable or can collect a lot of conservative votes. he want to get back on the economic message. he was doing that even this morning. >> i happen to think that people across the country want someone who understands the economy. that's what i know. that's in my wheel house. i understand how the economy works. i'm running against a guy in this state who's an economic lightweig

rick santorum has momentum.a candidate to watch. >> on the other side, you've about got pry yoriorities usa, president obama obviously making that statement. can he make up this, saying, aye, even though i don't think super pacs are a great idea, we have to level the playing field, do you think we're going to see significantly different numbers for him in february? >> i don't know about february but you'll see significantly different numbers. the president has decided, think made the right decision, that he's not going to basically compete under a different set of rules that the republicans are competing under. you saw $59,000 go to priorities usa in the last month but as this race heats up and into the fall, you ooh going to see a lot of money move swoog the super pacs on both sides and i expect the president to, you know -- his side of the ledger is going to have quite a bit of money as well. >> you know, howard, it's easy to say, how are they spending all this money, but that's because new york is not a battl

minnesota and missouri are significant wins i think for rick santorum. new hampshire, florida and nevada and i guess colorado maybe and santorum won a beauty contest. but significant space in a general election. you know and republicans want to win minnesota and iowa. and it's going to be an interesting case. and i think chris is right. there is a short window of time to turn this into a campaign and not take down the front runner. and gingrich contends with but tonight is the beginning. if there is a chance with him, it must happen tonight. >> a lot of the talk today is about super backs and -- super packs and obama campaign after saying there is a threat to democracy. and that is back and a billionaire in arizona who is staying there and believes rick santorum. >> and i think i saw him. >> he trachls with him. yes. >> and yeah. i think that is significant. >> it will be interesting if that is the only real way back or, if now he's able to bring in other people to support rick santorum. and looking ahead, we have two things i think are worth paying atten

rick santorum. anyone but mitt. is santorum the flavor of the month or a threat to mitt romney? three polls out in the last two days suggest santorum is for real. this time mitt has reason to be worried. for the first time now, president obama's campaign team has to consider the possibility that santorum could be the gop nominee facing him. would a race against a candidate who questions women, not just at the war front but also in the workplace, be an easy target for team obama? plus andrew sullivan writes that the birth control fight could end up as a big winner for president obama. he says the further the right wing, the farther is identified on birth control, the better it is for the president. andrew sullivan joins us tonight. >>> when house republicans caved on allowing an extension of the payroll tax cut, it was an admission this was a loser issue for the rs. finally why rick santorum is real and romney ain't. we begin with how serious a threat is rick santorum is to mitt romney. steve smith w

now you have rick santorum saying i'm the conservative alternative to romney. ables have turned on romney in four years. >> santorum wins in missouri. minnesota important. chris is in minnesota watching what is going on. you have new numbers? >> wolf, i am here in minnesota where about 20 miles south of the twin cities. very conservative, socially conservative. we just got some numbers here from the 12th precincts in two townsh townships. rick santorum came out on top. what do we have for rick santorum. >> he received 125. >> and this is brad johnson, the county gop chair. give me more insight, you have six of the seven sites here in the county reporting. all of them in fact for rick santorum. what does that tell you? ? it tells me that rick santorum's message resonated well with the residents of scott county, or he's doing well. >> ron paul coming in at two. he had a lot of supporters coming out. what does that say? >> a lot of the younger voters coming out for the congressman, and then again, his message works well, but he's got a very well organized ground ga

>> i think in the presidential outcome rick santorum has the same position he does. istent about this all the way through saying they should have gone through bankruptcy and he's against bailouts, trying to make romney look like he's closer to president obama's position be. new a general election, especially like mid romney, whose father ran one of the auto companies, who was governor of the state, this position will be and would be very difficult for him to defend in a general election. we are seeing that in polling in places like michigan and wisconsin. the president opening up double-digit leads on mitt romney. >> unions are already spending money on ads as the president goes to speak to the uaw today. let me play a little bit of something just going up in ohio. >> we showed the world that america doesn't quit. and now we are coming back. but in mitt romney's world -- >> don't give them money, let detroit go bankrupt. >> i have a feeling once the general election starts we'll see a lot more of this. the unions have money to spend, don't they? >> sure, and they are

>> eric dyson is here for reaction. >>> thanks for watching, the more radical rick santorum is the betterseems to do in the polls. santorum now up by 10 points nationally, according to gallup, beating mitt romney 36% to 26%. santorum, what he's doing is mobilizing social conservatives. along the way he said questionable things. last night in a church in georgia, santorum compared our current political climate to the build-up to world war ii. he said america sat on the sidelines for too long in 1940. >> we're a hopeful people. we think well, it will get better, yeah, he's a nice guy. i mean -- it won't be near as bad as what we think. this will be okay. oh, yeah, maybe he's not the best guy after a while you found out some things about this guy over in europe, he's not so good of a guy after all. but you know what, why do we need to be involved? that is the optimistic spirit of america. sometimes, sometimes it's not okay. it's going to be harder for this generation to figure this out. there is no event. >> santorum didn't mention names, but he talked about a nice guy, and talked about this

will rick santorum look presidential?ring the primaries? oh, it would become a dream come true for so many. erick erickson is sitting next to me, going, yes! could we see the rise of someone like chris christie at a brokered convention? all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep t

what a snob. >> rick santorum launched sharp criticism -- >> santorum's taking his fight to higher education. >> the snop comment. >> let's talk about this snobbery. >> what a snob. >> this is just nuts. it's just bad politics. >> i certainly don't think the president's a snop for saying that. i think that's probably over the line. >> attacking jfk. >> santorum triggered a debate by questioning the separation of church and state. >> the separation of church and state. >> how extreme can you get? >> what kind of country can we live in that says only people of nonfaith can come in the public square. >> the constitution is very clear in the separation of church and state. >> you bet that makes you throw up. >> made him want to throw up. >> the separation of church and state makes him want to throw up? >> he has been talking more than anyone about social issues. >> it's time for him to really focus on the economy. >> we saw mitt romney try to capitalize on that earlier today. >> this has got to be a campaign about the economy. >> it is do or die time for the republican presidential candidates in

rick santorum surprising surge in missouri, minnesota and colorado is at the very least shaking up the republican race. it's placed a new lens on the frontrunner, mitt romney's campaign. santorum wins raising questions now about why can't just romney close out the nomination battle? the former pennsylvania senator says there's something to be said about being the underdog. >> one of the great gift that is i've had in my political career is that no one ever think that is i could ever win anything. [ laughter ] >> the gift of being underestimated is a wonderful gift. [ laughter ] >> and i think we might have seen a little bit of that last night. >> last night santorum's trifecta reshuffles the republican race. the question tonight is can he sustain it? dana bash is back in washington with us live tonight. dana, he's off to texas today to raise money. is that priority number one now that everybody's suddenly paying attention again? >> it is priority number one. and i just got off the phone, john, with the senior santorum source who said that on their web site today they raised twice as mu

we'll hear from the candidate, from rick santorum himself. 'll talk to our panel about how much this changes the landscape and how significant a win for santorum or a close finish to romney in second place would mean for the former senator. let's take a look right now at some of the highlights from the candidate speeches from earlier tonight. >> conservatism is alive and well in missouri and minnesota! your votes today were not just heard loud and wide across the state of missouri and minnesota, but they were heard loud and louder all across this country. and particularly in a place that i suspect maybe in massachusetts they were heard particularly loud tonight. >> this was a good night for rick santorum. i want to congratulate senator santorum. wish him the very best. we'll keep on campaigning down the road, but i expect to become the nominee with your help. >> there's maybe another person who's listening to your cheers here tonight also. that might be at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. you better start listening to the voice of the people. >> he s

that's rick santorum's territory. so long the other three jostle around, mitt romney has the mathematical chance to build up the majority he needs. ipts not pretty, and it's going to be long. every time somebody like santorum wins delegates in a place like minnesota, that prolongs the math of getting to the 1,044 that mitt romney is going to need. by the way, arizona on the 28th now of this month, is, i think, going to be a contest. the other big one is michigan, which mitt romney is going to win. it's sort of his semi-home state. arizona is going to be a battle, i think. >> on the personal popularity number that is a difficult one to turn around with television campaign advertising, which is romney's primary weapon. >> no doubt. and look, he's come through this primary pretty bruised up when you look at that number. that being said, when you look at the structure of the general election contest and there are some polls out it this week that show the contact prospectively between governor romney and president obama op

and i thought that mitt romney on social conservatism was just as strong tonight as rick santorum. i thought santorum brought his "b" game on even those issues. i think he's been beaten up a little bit this week, and he was not as strong, even on conservative issues, as he has been in the past. and i think on this anti-government stuff that drives the tea party, i think howard's right, not only was he speaking legislative-ese all night, but he's reinforcing the message that rick santorum is an insider and mitt romney is an outsider. that's a message that santorum has to overcome. when he was asked to describe himself in one word, the obvious answer should have been conservative. instead, he said courage. and that was a missed opportunity. i think that hurts him too. >> i think the other piece of that, lawrence, is that he said "courage" after he had had to explain away all those votes that, in fact, did not show a lot of courage. my guess is that we'll hear some sort of an ad with rick santorum saying, best defined by the word courage, and a whole lineup of the votes that he did for

the nice thing about rick santorum -- >> i respect santorum and i respect mr.id spend his adult flf the congress. vote forward earmarks. more spending. he did not bring reforms to the federal government like mitt romney brought to massachusetts. the turnaround of the salt lake city olympics. what mitt romney has done his whole adult life outside of washington is take over big organizations with big problems and fix them and reform them. that's what the voters want. not another washington insider. >> i'm afraid the campaign coming up on the 28th of this month is going to be another dresden bombing. and i think what your candidate is going to do, charlie is not make that sort of sophisticated case. he's going to do advertising both through his superpac and his own campaign that destroys rick santorum with a heavy bombing raid. heavy bombing raid. >> wait a minute. mr. friess has a superpac too. >> nothing matches the romney campaign. thank you, charlie black. and foster friess. you're very intelligent. come back, please. next we're going to look back on the life