could george stephanopoulos take apart the old george stephanopoulos when he tried to come in and spin plan? >> no question about it. >> stephen: really? >> yeah. and when you announce you are coming on. >> stephen: if i announce, george. you have to give me some space. this is an incredibly important decision, an i'm asking you and the rest of the moda to respect my and my family's privacy. >> good choice. >> stephen: can you try to do that, be ethical for once? [laughter] let's talk to the declaiferred candidates. okay. the debate on saturday night, what was the vibe in the room? was it electric? what's it like at one of those debates? >> in the last debate back in iowa, they were really ready to go. saturday night not so much. they were trying to feel their way through. >> stephen: so is it difficult to be a member of the press in front of a republican audience? i'll give you a specific example. you got into a section there where you were talking about contraception. you were asking questions about contraception. why was it so important? why were you talking about contraception so m

those were the questions that should have been asked. >> george stephanopoulos spent a lot of time inhe media recently but people forget when he was front and center in the clinton administration and the argument is that he never quite took off that hat. successfully. >> and increasingly that is the way political coverage is going. activists, news people, news people become activists. i mean, it is just such a thin line at this point as to be nonexistent. >> and the other thing people forget, it was a long time ago and diane sawyer worked in the nixon administration. it's not just democrats who come out of administrations and work in the media. >> not just in the past, also future, anybody in these debates, is stupid from their point of view, in the media, to use the debate to get attention and notoriety and for all the republicans, george stephanopoulos, and, people are cheering for them and they say, my next interview with president obama, will be and, with vice president biden and michelle obama and the notion of a get is fully in that he minds of these people, as they ask the ques

as the moderator that was on the i mean beyond that they can't control what stephanopoulos is going to ask them once they agree to stephanopoulos moderate the debate but what about saying this notion that a lot of people and i know you know as many as i do a lot of people vote with their head with their hearts and not their head a lot of people are one issue voters they vote on whatever candidate agrees with them most about guns about abortion especially in places like iowa and new hampshire i mean certainly i'm not getting the media out of responsibility for this because you're right they're not always asking the right questions they don't want to at will of the media's incredibly biased they don't want to ask about the economy because it reflects very poorly on the incumbent president they want to see reelected so they're not going to talk about that ochsner has hosted plenty of debates and they ask all kinds of questions about the economy i mean chris wallace does. bear does kelly does the last debate was it would. there were three of the moderators they asked a bunch of question

sure to watch george stephanopoulos on "this week" coming up.coming up.

be sure to watch george stephanopoulos on "this week" coming up. up. >> live and in hd, this is an abc 7 news update. 8:56.d morning at alexandria city council approved for the oldt plan town waterfront pretty plan for a mix of new developments including boutique hotels, commercial space, and parks. some say this will roll in alexandria and cause more traffic problems. the virginia senate is expected on a bill making texting an of fans.g previous measures have died in prepared text and driving is already primary district ande maryland. you plan to take mr. today, delays on all five lives. bustles will replace the red line. -- shuttle buses will replace trains on the red line. let's look at our forecast. it looks and feels like there this morning. overcast skies in annapolis and that will be the day. throughout the we have temperatures around the still in the 20's for the part, just 26 degrees in waldorf. as we go through the day, high pressure over head and you were up early this morning, you saw flurries and snow the cityspecially in and to the ea

george stephanopoulos hasn't had a day off in the year 2012. let me ask you, is it too late for people to kor nate an anti-romney? >> it's unclear what this group will do to help santorum. is it enough for him to jump ahead of newt gingrich in south carolina? that's unclear. there are two big debates in south carolina this week that can prove decisive. >> newt gingrich got booed by a group of republicans yesterday after talking about mitt romney's business record. what does that tell you? >> well, there has been a little bit of backlash, everyone who has gone after mitt romney's bain record in south carolina has faced a chorus of critics. you saw it again last night at that mike huckabee forum. it may help mitt romney in the short term. the question is, how will this debate play out in the general election if he does indeed get the nomination? that's going to be much more decisive. >> your big guest today is stephen colbert. you were swigging whiskey out of the same bottle. i'm assuming that this morning's broadcast will be a little bit of a so

george stephanopoulos will be here in minutes. huge turn around. >>> also this morning, an outpouring of support for joe paterno. hundreds gathered at the happy valley, pennsylvania, campus to pray for the legendary head coach. as his family revealed that his health has taken a turn for the worse. paterno is 85 and suffering complications from lung cancer and a broken pelvis. he's been ailing since he was fired back in november. in the wake of the investigation of his former assistant on child sex abuse charges. we'll have more on this developing story coming up. >> amazing and sad how quickly his health deteriorated. after he got fired. >>> also coming up this morning the country superstar garth brooks getting choked up in court, talking about his mom who died of cancer. he's now suing a hospital in oklahoma that he said broke their promise to name a building after his mother. much more of this bitter lawsuit coming up. >>> but right to the big story. politics. your voice, your vote. the man of the moment, newt gingrich scoring a

our george stephanopoulos was right in the thick of it. he's live with us this morning in new hampshire. >>> terror on the doorstep. a package left at a colorado's couple's house explodes after they put it in their car. they barely escaped with their lives. what happened and why they were targeted? >>> the rampage and the recovery. on this one-year anniversary, gabrielle giffords returns for the first time to that supermarket in tucson where she was shot. we'll talk to her husband about her astonishing recovery. you won't believe what she's doing now. >>> and breaking baby news. the world has a new hip-hop princess. after weeks of rumors, the day has finally arrived. beyonce and jay-z welcome a baby girl and we have all of the details. >>> the baby is finally here. we have been waiting for this moment. and we told you yesterday morning, you heard it here first that beyonce was at lenox hill hospital in new york, delivering a baby girl. jay-z pulled out stops. there are reports that he paid $1.3 million to rent out the entire fourth floor o

and i want to bring in the anchor of "this week," george stephanopoulos now. so, can anybody block romney at this point? >> reporter: not in new hampshire, no way. the only question is, how much is he going to win by? and who is going to come in second and have momentum going into south carolina? but the only way those other candidates can grow right now is to take something out of mitt romney. >> and as you know, we've been talking about this, i was on elm street today, walking around and there was real optimism in there about more jobs. >> we've had, i think, like six or seven ribbon cutting ceremonies in the last, week, month or two, yeah. it's a great place to be. >> reporter: hi, how are you? i'm diane. it's nice to meet you. as we know, across the country, people are echoing what's already been happening in new hampshire, saying that new businesses are opening up. so, how does this new, good numbers on jobs affect the republican strategy? >> reporter: you can't really change their strategy. they still have to argue that things will be much better if they

dedewhat is your take away besides george stephanopoulos and bizarre interaction on contraception, whatas your take away. >> well, mitt romney was presidential and he's going to be our nominee, i think that's what we take away from this as well as the fact it was the g.o.p. team against the moderators. this is crazy. i mean, crazy questions, silly questions, and david axlerod made the call, chicago, we've got a problem. they could not touch mitt romney. he was great, a rock star. they didn't give perry time and didn't ask santorum the right questions and focused on mitt romney and they wanted to take him down and make him look bad and didn't make it work. >> dave: i thought that rick perry did well. no time, but a performance. >> he didn't have time. >> dave: and there was not one question to my knowledge on bomb care, i did watch football, but not one question on the president's signature achievement. why didn't those other guys go after mitt enough? >> i think there were plenty of times to go after it and chose not to. the media set this up as the anti-mitt debate and what it was the

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george stephanopoulos has a well-deserved morning off. with just two days until tuesday's critical florida primary, it has been a wild weekend of campaigning in the sunshine state. two pieces of breaking news for you overnight from florida, first, an endorsement from key tea party favorite herman cain. >> i hereby, officially and enthusiastically endorse newt gingrich for president of the united states. speaker gingrich is running for president. and going through this sausage grinder. i know what this sausage grinder is all about. >> the pizza man knows about the sausage grinder. the miami herald and the tampa bay times released a new poll of the race. mitt romney has opened up his lead over gingrich. to double digits. 42% to 31%. rick santorum trails at 14%. this intensely competitive race is where we begin the show this morning. former speaker newt gingrich joins us from the tampa area. mr. speaker, thank you for being here. >> thank you, jake. >> as, as we pointed out last night, you received that rally you received an endorsement from

want to two right to abc news election headquarters in new york where diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos are standing by. and diane and george, what do you make of what the iowans have done here tonight? >> well, this is a season of phenomenal results. this is another one that confounds a lot of people in one sense. you have, yet again, a new front-runner, a tie at the top, with rick santorum pulling it off at the last minute. we've been talking about what a close race these races have become. >> we have never seen a race this close. as terry said just a little bit ago. we have insight from the entrance polls. why it is so close. i want to show, first of all, very conservative voters, they are key in iowa, almost half the electorate. they went big for rick santorum, 34 to 14. you see that right there. those are the true believers who really went hard for rick santorum in this caucus. on the other hand, big questions for republican voters. who can beat president obama in the fall? about 30% of the electorate and mitt romney that by 37 points. what that adds up to tonight is basically a ti

here are abc news election anchors diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. >> that's right, terry. what a win it was tonight for governor mitt romney. we should point out who came in second and third in this race, as they poured it on in new hampshire, the candidates all did. and behind mitt romney was congressman ron paul. and behind him, jon huntsman, governor jon huntsman, former ambassador to china, as well, who, in the last few days, seemed to be surging, gaining some steam. but apparently didn't have enough to take him into second place. >> perhaps not enough time. there were some polls showing he might come into second. but he couldn't get over ron paul. what we're learning also from these exit polls, what voters were focused on here is finding the candidate that could beat president obama. and mitt romney won those voters overwhelmingly. that's what drove him across the finish line here tonight. he also did well with voters who made up their minds a while ago. did even better than his vote total here. he did take some hits. we've been covering over the last couple of days,

. >>> and george stephanopoulos and i and the full abc news political team will be bringing you live coverage of the state of the union tonight, at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. we hope you will join us then. and a reminder on thursday morning, i'll sit down with the president, his first network interview, as the countdown from the state of the union to the election begins. >>> and today, an outpouring on the penn state campus, as mourners pay tribute to legendary football coach, joe paterno, who ended his career amid questions about his handling of an alleged sex abuse scandal. today, his son, jay paterno, talked to our sister network, espn, about his father's dying wish. abc's dan harris has that story. >> reporter: the line of mourners a quarter of a mile long today here at this place that's always considered itself less a state university than a state of mind. and where joe paterno was the mythic embodiment of the motto, "success with honor." today, his son said paterno's dying wishes all centered around sue, his wife of 50 years. >> the last couple of weeks it has been just n

george stephanopoulos and i and the entire political team will be here throughout the night, bringinge, as they come pouring in. and, of course, we'll have a full wrap-up later tonight on a special edition of "nightline." so, we'll see you later tonight. and, of course, right back here again tomorrow. captioned by closed captioning services, inc.

moderated by diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m.acific. and we'll be right back. a second is a very long time. long enough for a train track in taiwan to sense an malfunction and alert the operators. or to spot a power disruption in texas before it spreads. or help a global finance company pinpoint fraud and protect customers. smarter analytics is helping companies all over the world predict what's coming and act on it now. that's what i'm working on. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. >>> and now, in memoriam. ♪ >> this week the pentagon released the names of six servic

george stephanopoulos and i and the entire political team will have a full wrap-up.special edition of "nightline." the big vote in new hampshire today. we'll have all of the big picture tonight. so, we'll see you then. and of course, all of us will see you right back here again tomorrow. good night. >>> hugh jackson out as coach of the raiders tonight. fired on the first day on the job. >> prosecutors reveal evidence against a suspected serial killer. the double-initial murders and list kept in his home. >> tonight the federal government comes through on a promise to bring bart to san jose. >> in sacramento, republican state lawmakers move to kill the high speed rail project introducing a bill that stops the funding. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> the oakland raiders need a new coach tonight. >> on his first day on the job, the team's new general manager fired hugh jackson, dump afd one year on the skbrob job and a season that started with high hopes, ending in disappointment. we're live in alameda tonight. like they say, nfl but not for long. >> that is true f

and george stephanopoulos and i will be here with the abc news team to bring you live coverage of thesident's big state of the union address, coming up tonight. >>> until then, good night. >>> good evening, everyone, i'm carolyn johnson. >> abc's coverage of the state of the union address begins in just a moment. >> first, top stories tonight. police say a 15-year-old foreign tourist swaulted this morning was unconscious when it happened. the person on the stretcher is a suspect, an 18-year-old man from southern california. other members of the tour group called police when she wandered from them. investigators say they found the suspect assaulting the girl in the bush autos san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi tells abc 7 news he has no plans to step asichld he is set to stand trial on domestic violence charges. mayor ed lee called mirkarimi to city hall to talk about how he plans to do his job during the trial. mirkarimi says he can handle it and adds he will not take pay during time in court. >> apple received a best ever earnings report today, setting new records thanks to

i want to bring in co-anchor of "good morning america," george stephanopoulos. give us the big picture, george. how did newt gingrich fire up the afterburners again? >> it was incredible. it happened in the debates. he showed he can take on the media, take on obama, and it created the massive shift. who can beat obama? all year long, that has been romney's big advantage. almost 30 points in iowa. it blew to a more than 50-point advantage in new hampshire and, then, look at this reversal, complete flip. now newt gingrich has that advantage on electable. who can beat obama. a lot of the voters in south carolina said they saw him take the other people on, he can take the fight to the president. >> so the president, the debates, one-two punch? one-two-three purge? >> and the media as well. i talked to several top republican strategists today. most of these people do not want newt gingrich to be the nominee but for the first time they're starting to believe it actually can happen. it begins for newt if he gets a win in florida in just over a week. >> all right. and i

and time now to bring in co-an or the of election coverage, george stephanopoulos. so many voters out there. >> reporter: a huge number, it spokes how fluid this race is. you called it a photo finish. that is exactly what it is right now. all the three top candidates bunched up at the top and the big questions tonight are, those final voters making up their minds in the last 48 hours, going to go with the candidate who has momentum, rick santorum or will it be a pragmatic choice? mitt romney has been seen all along as the candidate best able to beat president obama. >> how is turnout tonight? >> reporter: it's huge. it's going to be a big thing i'm going to be watching. four years ago, about 420,000 turned out to vote. 100,000 fewer than the democrats. almost all the campaigns expect that number to go up. if it goes way up, that is a big danger sign for president obama. remember, iowa is going to be a big battleground state in november. if you see that enthusiasm on the republican side, it's a challenge for him. >> i want to let everybody at home to know what it is

but "good morning america" co-anchor george stephanopoulos, anchoring election coverage. >> a three-person race, diane. mitt romney, ron paul, rick santorum bunched up at the top. right now, ron paul doing ocean personally well. right now, and this is so key, diane, one of the things we're seeing tonight is independent voters, they are the voters who are going to make the differences in the general election in november. they are dcoming out in high numbers tonight. double that of 2008. they are breaking. look at that, for ron paul, big time. 48% of them going to ron paul. 15% to romney, 10% to santorum. we also looked at the traditional iowa caucus voters, the evangelical voters who are such a force in iowa. they are about 60% of the vote this time around. here is what's interesting, ron paul holding his own along with rick santorum. a lot of people believed if rick santorum could coelless that vote, he could win. and there's a battle between purity and pragmatism going on. 30% saying the most important thing they want is to defeat barack obama. they are breaking heavily to mitt romney. th

on saturday night, george stephanopoulos was badgering mitt romney regarding contraceptives and then on sunday morning, it was david gregory's turn who just absolutely unleashed a string of political talking points. >> it's very interesting, though, how the republicans stacked up against those questions so saturday night, really nobody laid a hat -- a mit on mitt. >> they didn't try. >> he this didn't even try. that was fascinating. everybody said he's so far ahead in new hampshire, somebody has to do this because all these other kanld dates are pretty much the same. i know they're not exactly the same but going for that not-mitt vote. then by sunday morning, a mere 12 hours later, they did start to push some of the pufrnlz towards them and newt gingrich really had the most memorable line of that debate where he basically called romney pious baloney. pious baloney. >> delicious. let's watch. >> i realize the red light doesn't mean anything to you because you're the frontrunner. but can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney? the fact is you ran in 1994 and lost. that's why you wer

we'll start with saturday night's debate, abc news, diane sawyer, gege stephanopoulos.'s the question about mitt romney's time as a venture cap tailist working for bain capital. >> in december you said that governor romney made money at bane by "bankrupting companies and laying off employees." >> that was, i think, "the new york times" story two days ago. >> governor romney, your response? >> i'm not surprised to have "the new york times" try to put free enterprise on trial. >> roger simon, newt is invoking "the new york times." i thought he didn't like the elite media. >> well, what is surprising here is that newt won't stand up and make the charge himself. newt has been attacking the -- mitt romney at almost every stop, attacked him very ungraciously in his own concession speech in iowa. the most ungracious concession speech i've ever heard of. but here we are in new hampshire, and suddenly newt wimps out and -- put it all on the back of "the new york times." >> hiding behind the newspaper? >> absolutely. he clearly doesn't want to be out front, at least in that first