>> i like rick santorum.ll be supporting him in the iowa caucus on january 3rd. >> were you of that mindset before you came in? >> i was leaning towards him. i hadn't quite made my mind up yet because there are other candidates very similar to him. but from what i've seen that was enough to put me solidly in his corner. >> so he closed the deal today? >> yes. >> just a flavor of the crowd in iowa. musketine, iowa. a city with a rich, progressive history. congressman steve king. everybody wants his endorsement. the iowa congressman good friends with michele bachmann. he says today that ron paul is dangerous and rick santorum will surprise. but when you go to these meetings, they're not rallies. these folks are serious. they show up. they're curious. they're looking for information. they want to be sold. they want to ask questions. they're not there to rah, rah at all. they are really inspecting and overhauling all of these candidates when it comes to information to find out exactly who is the best choice. and

the santorum surge is now upon us.surge in the polls follows the trump surge in the polls. the back man surge, the perry surge, the herman cain surge and gingrich surge. is the santorum surge the final one? is rick santorum where the anybody but mitt romney is going to end up or will the santorum surge turn into a collapse? joining me now is former ç pennsylvania governor ed rendell an nbc news political analyst. governor rendell, tell me what's crazy about rick santorum from a republican perspective because that's what happened to every other one of these people was surging in the republican polls, republicans discovered something they really didn't like about them. is there something they don't yet note about rick santorum? >> santorum is benefiting from the fact that he's surging so late that he isn't going to have a chance to be vetted by the media or by negative commercials to the iowa voters. we've got the new year's eve weekend coming up. there isn't going to be any time. so he's going to really go to the polls

if he were to fall to third behind either santorum and paul or paul and santorum, that would become am at this point especially if it was a distant third. that would hurt him going into new hampshire and might throw the door open to a more unexpected outcome than what i think most people are looking at right now which is romney wins iowa, new hampshire and pretty much puts the nomination away. >> howard, someone always gets left behind in iowa this they just can't make it up and continue to campaign. who will we not be talking about this time next week? >> probably michele bachmann for sure. and don't forget, she's another person who didn't even bother to submit signatures to try to get on the ballot in virginia. i think her for sure. i think they'll be some lingering discussion of jon huntsman. he didn't really play here. he's not playing here. and he's got to make a big showing in new hampshire. but i think people will come out of here will look ahead to new hampshire and see that his numbers aren't anywhere in new hampshire. so he'll be commented upon mostly i'm guessing now from t

bachmann and santorum, bachmann last at 10, santorum at 20.e worrisome for romney though is this number. only 51% of voters are firmly committed to his campaign. rick santorum and ron paul have more die-hard supporters, even rick perry technically ahead there and that's a number to keep an eye on, that intensity of support. remember the caucuses, you got to show up at a specific time in the evening on tuesday evening. it's not like you can go all day. the casual republican voter clearly seems to be leaning toward romney. does the casual voter show up tuesday night? now our poll confirms that newt is in a freefall. the only question is how low can he go? did we capture him in the middle of his fall or at the end? only 35% of likely republican caucus goers say gingrich would be acceptable as the republican nominee. a full 35% call him unacceptable. millions of dollars in negative tv ads targeting him and played a major role in the erosion of his support. a new analysis of the campaign group reports that since december 1st 45% of all advertising

it's sort of a kid-glove treatment on mitt romney from rick santorum.ut what he's trying to say is, he's not one of you guys, i am. >> jim acosta, santorum was on the second of five cities when he talked to jim. he can talk a lot about manufacturing i know in pella where they have a bit of a manufacturing base. jim, we'll talk to you later on in the day. >>> up ahead on "the contenders 2012," our wolf blitzer sits down with mitt romney. >>> but first -- the other big story today. it is already 2012 in some parts of the world. you're looking at pictures from hong kong where they're 13 hours ahead of us in the u.s. [ child ] it's so cool! you can put a force field on him and be invisible! [ child 2 ] i call first player. no. i already called it. [ dad ] nobody's playing anything until after we get our homework done. thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive, it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor tren

he wants to be the guy that knocks off santorum. here he is going after santorum., let's watch rick perry, still in the fight. >> rick santorum is a friend. i mean, he is -- i've got great respect for him. but when he talks about fiscal conservatism, every now and then, it kind of leaves me scratching my head, because he was a prolific earmarker. you know, i love iowa pork, but i hate washington pork. and senator santorum, he loaded up his bills with pennsylvania pork. and he even voted for the alaska bridge to nowhere. >> so does that kind of cornpone going to work out here? >> no. >> he's obviously talking down to people. if it's possible for rick perry to talk down to someone, he's doing it. >> it's the conservatives in a circle particular firing squad and they're trashing each other. the real winners of this are mitt romney and probably barack obama. >> i will say this, though, having just come from a santorum event and having interviewed a bunqh of people there, the one thing they didn't like about santorum is that he sometimes lapsed into congressionalese. bo

for example, rick santorum, charismatic, starting to pull away. can he overtake romney as the overall winner and big winner out of iowa? >> it depends. this is a momentum game. who gets hot at the end. rick santorum has the hot hand and particularly the hot hand among this et voting bloc, but you've got -- the candidates aren't going to do that. the voters will make that decision. the problem for santorum, he's benefiting from bachmann's collapse, for sure, and she's kind of on the way down. >> we saw her yesterday with 12 people of at an event at the most. >> the problem he's facing the issue thing in the nbc poll is perry is still holding steady and ticking up a little bit. >> is that tv advertising? >> totally a matter of money and shows you the contrast between thof them, if santorum had per's money would i bet today he's win the caucus eds, but he's totally broke, got momentum but no money. perry has no momentum but can be on television everywhere. has spent more money than any other candidate. >> the can't days are use their ad buys trying t

gwen: is rick santorum surging? >> you've got the moderate primary, which mitt romney are scrumming for and three folks running as strong conservatives. gwen: is newt gingrich fading? >> you don't have to have a nasty, negative, mud-slinging, consultant-driven campaign? i refuse to engage in that kind of politics. gwen: is time running out for michele bachmann and rick perry? the polls tell the tale but finally so will the voters. we preview the iowa caucuses with karen ue multiof "the washington post," jeff zeleny of "the new york times," susan davis of "usa today" and christina bellantoni of cg roll call. >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens frfment our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. >> to help troops see danger before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the

santorum can't respond with ads.ond i responding to the media. i think we have some sound of him doing that yesterday. >> i said, and i have after i left the congress, i defended my earmarks in the sense that i'm proud of the money that i did set aside for things that were priorities in my state instead of having bureaucrats do that. >> he also seems to be drawing some of the biggest crowds. he's taken a traditional approach to campaigning. visiting all 99 counties. he's can that continue all those negative attacks to continue drawing those kinds of crowds where he can of give his own response? >> right. all the candidates are getting good crowds because the voters are so interested. feeling out the candidates before they get there. santorum's appeal is he's had a long-standing courtship. he compared the other candidates saying they are speed dating. his bump in the polls has given voters here a renewed interest in him. so certainly going forward. you're going to see those crowds. and he's still not going negative ne

a lot for santorum to think about. of course, he has to worry about not just iowa, but his path through new hampshire and south carolina and beyond if he's going to be a factor in this race. candy? >> long, long way to go, but great race for rick santorum. thanks, joe johns. coming up in about ten minutes, my interview with rick santorum. here's a little pry view. >> that's because most of the media says mitt romney can beat president obama. but what -- >> there's polling as well. >> yeah, but you realize that, you know, polls change. convictions don't change. and what we need is a conviction politician who's authentic that the american people can trust. that's what we need in this election. someone that draw as clear contrast. >> iowa is a road less traveled for mitt romney. the des moines register says he has spent just 14 days campaigning here this election season. today outside a restaurant in cedar falls, his comment about the weather speaks volumes about a sense he's changing in the political climate. take a list

look at rick santorum's numbers in the other poll, they(siow no movement whatsoever in rick santorum'sbers. so caution. if you are rick santorum, this kind of surge in one poll at this late stage in the political calendar, has got to be very excited. what better timing for the emergence of the rick santorum super pac? it's called the red, white and blue fund. today they launched this pro-rick santorum ad in iowa. apparently they're spending a quarter of a million dollars on it. for the other top tier candidates in iowa is a drop in the bucket. for rick santorum, that's a huge deal. i would say next things to watch on rick santorum are probably whether or not any other candidates take him seriously enough to go negative on him. and also whether or not fox news gets onboard with mr. santorum. they have postally ignored him thus far. but i think those two factors we've seen make a big difference in the durability of other candidates' non-mitt romney. the two factors will be worth watching. what do i know? i've been dismissing rick santorum all along. all right. one candidate who is not ge

>> it's rick santorum. i covered a couple of rick santorum's events today.one in ames, he had another one in marshalltown, not very far away from des moines. he's getting huge crowds. hundreds and hundreds of people. you know, that's where the evangelical christians are starting to look. so as we go into this weekend with lots of events and as e.j. mentioned, church on sunday, he's a candidate who's going to fire up that kind of crowd. so i think he's the candidate to watch. >> and quickly, e.j., i don't think he has much resources beyond iowa. he's put all his eggs in this basket. what do you think? >> what he's got up in new hampshire is an organization made up mostly of the right to life movement. but he does have something going up there. but the romney people think in the long run perry would be harder to beat, still, because romney has not traditionally been strong in the south. and so if one of them is going to emerge, i think they'd prefer santorum, but i think he's got an outside shot at doing well if he gets to new hampshire. >> mike, make the call

they are starting to coalesce behind santorum. he received an important endorsement from in evangelical leader in iowa, 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 the

rick santorum is third at 15%. newt gingrich was moved to tears at one event today, has fallen to fifth place. nbc's peter alexander is in des moines with more. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening. as you noted the frontrunners mitt romney and ron paul are so confident tonight ron paul said he plans to take the weekend off. mitt romney is already campaigning in new hampshire tonight, the next state to vote, trying to shore up his support there. mitt romney continued trying to position himself as the presumptive republican nominee, directing much of his fire at the president. >> do you want more of barack obama? >> no! >> reporter: today turning to popular new jersey governor chris christie to help seal votes who offered a playful jab. >> you don't do what you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney, i will be back jersey-style, people. i will be back. >> reporter: romney deflected a question from nbc's andrea mitchell over whether he would release his tax returns. >> you know, if i become pre

so rick santorum is not shrinking from the fight.e also had a little bit of a shot at mitt romney saying to iowans, don't settle for something less just because you think that is what is going to win in this upcoming general election. so he's starting to sharpen the edges just a little bit. but he's sticking with the retail politics kind of message. he's hoping that's going to deliver him on caucus night, candy. >> jim acosta, i should point out one of the reasons reporters love iowa is that in general, you can show up at an event with a candidate and say, come on over here and talk to me and they actually do. after this, they get much bigger and it's hard to get to them. >> reporter: that's right. that's true. we'll take what we can get. >> thanks so much to jim acosta. you're absolutely right. thank you so much to jim and to joe. >>> coming up, political analyst ron brownsstein joins me to talk more about mitt romney's day. >>> welcome back to "the contenders 2012." we're taking the time this afternoon to let you hear from the 2012

i favor one that has good principles that i can trust. >> woodruff: santorum. >> santorum, right. but i think part of the problem we have in this, i've never seen this many people so undecided this late in the game and i think a lot of that has to do with the massive number of debates that we've had and the forum that the debates have had to where people are attacking each other-- i mean, we're attacking our own. >> woodruff: anybody else on why it's so hard to make a decision this time? i mean, you've touched on the fact that it is hard but any thoughts about why? b.j.? >> mitt rney cannot get past a certain level, and he couldn't-- he couldn't go up against huckabee last time, although he spent gobs and gobs and gobs of money. to me, mitt romney is the status quo in the republican party, and i think a lot of us-- i don't know how many of us are tea partiers or libertarians-- we're dissatisfied with the status quo of the republican party and that's what mitt romney represents. i think that's why there are the fights-- not the infighting but the turmoil in our party. >> woodruff:

p -- except santorum. paul attacking bachmann, bachmann attacking gingrich, etc. -- the only one who is not untouched its central rate he is getting his moment now, but the timing is perfect, because it is at the end. there was one attack on him a day or two ago, but it is not going to work. he now, if he emerges in the top three, will be the non-romney. ron paul is not a plausible presidential candidate in the end. we will see how he stands up to it. every other candidate who has had his moment in the sun has come down. >> it is more than just not being attacked. he has some positives that have not been notice as much outside of iowa. the evangelical conservatives in iowa, a big part of the constituency, have been the ones who have been shifting and shifting trying to find their candidate, and have been scattered among candidates. they are starting to coalesce behind santorum. he received a very important endorsement from evangelicals leader in iowa, mr. vander plaats. that is what is giving him some mome

susan from des moines. >> rick santorum. >> correct. >> santorum doesn't deny it. >> i did. earmarks, if you look in the constitution, earmarks are things in the per view of the constitution. i earmarked. jim demint earmarked. congressmen here in iowa earmarked, but what happened was abuse. >> the biggest committee is how he intended to compete with romney. the guy who behaves like he's got what he needs to go to november. >> i think we're doing pretty well right now. we're going to go to new hampshire after this. >> and he's bought ads in new hampshire, where he's been polling in the nether regions. he always loved to talk tough, which matters on the right. he's been slamming president obama as well as ron paul claiming he's a liberal stalking conservative votes. some of the other candidates are gotten hurt when things from their past popped up or caused them trouble. i asked santorum about that in today's interview. he says he's already been vetted. with him, what you see is what you get. >> so he's ready for a bunch of negative attack ads. they did powerful damage to newt

for rick santorum, there are two challenges. he has to be better than newt gingrich who has been dropping but still has support, and he's got to challenge ron paul who is tied near the top of the polls with romney and has a very strong ground organization. the other challenge for santorum if he emerges strong from iowa how he, with his legislative experience, argues that he's a better challenger for barack obama than mitt romney who is running on his executive experience as a business man and governor. >> mitchell: earlier, mitt romney seemed to blow off iowa, didn't participate in the straw polls, didn't acontinued a couple of differences there. was all of this part of his strategy, do you think? >> it's a strategic blow-off. he has hadda a two-part strategy for iowa-- lay low but leave the option to come on strong in the end. as said he has not participateed in the compulsory exercise of iowa politics. he has done it his own way, much the way he did with his national strategy. he didn't tack every candidate as they had their m

for rick santorum, that's a huge deam> i would say next things to watch on rick santorum are probablyor not any other candidates take him seriously enough to go negative on him. and also whether or not fox news gets onboard with mr. santorum. they have postally ignored him thus far. but i think those two factors we've seen make a big difference in the durability of other candidates' non-mitt romney. the two factors will be worth watching. what do i know? i've been dismissing rick santorum all along. all right. one candidate who is not getting any headlines out of the polling from iowa today, not only not getting any headlines but not getting sub headlines out of the new polling from iowa today is rick perry who comes in fifth in both the ppp and the cnn polls that are out today. of note in the rick perry campaign right now is a new rick perry stump speech. "the des moines register" reporting today the perry campaign revamped his stump speech in what they're billing as his closing argument to iowa voters. the new vamped speech "the register" observed, quote, ends with a religious flour