ron paul is the big winner at the values voter summit. passionate supporters handed him another straw poll victory with 37% of the vote. rick perry finished in fourth with 8%. mitt romney pulled in just 4%. for romney, it's on the heels of a controversy stirred by a texas pastor who said mormonism is a cult. it's raising the question whether romney can appeal to christian conservatives, a critical republican voting block. reaction on that in a moment. there's other big news on the campaign trail. herman cain who finished second in the values voters summit straw poll won a landslide victory in the minnesota straw poll. he took 52% of the vote among minnesota leaders. michele bachmann was the next votes, 40 points behind at 12%. rick perry stopped in iowa trying to fend off tough questions about his immigration

jim acosta for us at the values voter summit in d.c. p, we'll certainly monitor his comments this morning. >>> also, take a look at how likely republican primary voters answered the question in a recent cnn wmur poll. is the country ready to elect a mormon president? 61% say yes. 25% say no. the poll was conducted from september 26th to this past thursday and has a sampling margin of plus or minus 6 percentage points. >>> and it wasn't too terribly long ago that republican presidential hopeful herman cain was seeing single digits in the polls and given little regard in his campaign for the white house. that was then. this is now. his political stock has risen significantly in recent gop polls and in friday at that same voters -- values voter summit, cain made fun of the so-called experts. >> three months ago, the pundits -- the political pundits said herman cain can't get the nomination. herman cain cannot win the presidency, because he doesn't have high-name i.d. he doesn't have aca jill i don't know dollars, and he has never held publi

that's your basic beltway media narrative about something like this weekend's values voters summit. that analysis. the values voter thing is not a fringe event. if it ever was, it isn't anymore. substantively it's a fringe event. it's like the flat earth society. it's not fringe within the conservative movement and republican party politics. mitt romney has gone to the values voters summit for six years in a row now. every major republican presidential candidate except for jon huntsman, is he still considered major, spoke at the values voters summit this weekend. also the house leadership. the congressional leadership of the republican party which supposedly represents the mainstream of the party and should not be tarred by the extreme views of the fringe of the conservative movement. but here's house majority leader eric cantor speaking at the values voters summit. here's speaker of the house john boehner speaking at the values voters summit. here's who they shared the stage with. >> i believe we need a president that understands just as islam represents the greatest long range thr

romney as long as we're talking economics not occasionally says the right thing speaking of the value voters summit romney can down rather than pander to the hateful rhetoric coming from the american family association romney said we should remember the decency and civility are values to one of the speakers that will follow me today has crossed that line what is the language doesn't advance our cause it is never softened a single heart or changed a single mind well so i guess romney feels a little bit more comfortable moving to the rational middle now that rick perry is imploding. the bad peter king taking a break from his mccarthy as hearings into american muslim communities public and congressman peter king went on the war ingram show to warn the nation about the occupy wall street. fifty four if you want it going out there there is no chance of corporate power to very free and very american power and frank capra who are. very very very great imo mark remember but after going to. where you are left wing three pounds but not immediately or part them are very poor policy paragraph no i guess king i

. >>> gop presidential contenders gathered in the nation's capital for the annual values voters summit. fox's karl cameron examines how it went. >> reporter: at the annual values voter summit in washington texas governor rick perry tried to restore confidence among social conservatives in his candidacy. >> there should not be a single policy coming out of washington d.c. that interferes with the decisions best made by the family. >> reporter: the empathizers took a swipe at mitt romney who was pro choice until just a few years ago. >> some candidate's pro life is an election year slogan. >> reporter: romney addresses the values voters summit saturday and delivered the first foreign policy speech of his campaign at the citadel in south carolina this morning outlining eight steps to strengthen national security he'd take in the first 100 days of his presidency. >> the united states will apply the full spectrum of hard and soft power to influence events before they erupt into conflict. not united states should always retain -- the united states should always retain military sumpremacy to

in any case i'd like to move along and this is this is the values voters summit is happening this weekend and i find this particularly ironic that the values voters summit is all about you know basically the christian right is being put on by the american family association i believe it is and. why would they they do it on the weekend that is the the high holy days of one of the major religions in this country. and be why you know when they're so aggressive about basically backing the republican agenda why are they ignoring matthew twenty five you know the core of christianity is that this is the this is the christian right that is mean and you know there's only one place in the bible where jesus was confronted by his disciples and said how do we get into heaven and he said you know he said i was hungry and he gave me something to eat you know the last days he's he's separating the sheep from the goats he says i was thirsty you gave me something to drink i was a stranger you invited me and i needed clothes you clothed me i was sick and you looked after me i was in prison you came to visit

the first things first, we want to open the values voter summit in a word of prayer by going to god who us our values. coming to lead in this prayer is a young lady we want you to meet, we see breakneck pace. she is a high school student and she was -- she decided she wanted to give a voluntary verse prayer despite strict rules from school leaders against it also a threat or the aclu if she tried it. she decided to obey god rather than man and she did it anyway. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] thank you, ladies and gentlemen. thank you. lacy, you can pray all you want here. would you please lead us in prayer? >> are most gracious heavenly father, i thank you for such a beautiful day you have blessed us with. .com i thank you for your blessings and i just pray that you watch over the conference, jesus, that you just bless it, father. .. >> i saw that video. that reaction you had was the same reaction at the graduation when she did that. there's hope for america. now, ladies and gentlemen, would you please stand together for the presentation of our colors by the university of

he's speaking at the values, voter values summit in washington right now., and you saw it basically unfold here in "the situation room," one of the organizers told us, told the crowd there earlier that he could not support mitt romney because of his faith. because he's a mormon and he says not a christian, even though mormons believe in jesus christ, he believes it's a cult and says evangelical christians believe that the mormon religion is a cult. we're going to have much more on this part of the story coming up because it's exploding into a huge issue right now. romney being a front-runner for the republican presidential nomination and all of a sudden, a group of conservatives and republicans insisting they should not vote for romney because a, he's not a christian, b, he's in a cult and they should vote for real christians. stand by for more on this. >>> also, this just coming in. the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, is furious over allegations that he misled congress. mary snow is monitoring that. what's going on here? >> house republ

he introduced perry yesterday at the value voters summit, a conservative gathering in washington. speaking with reporters afterwards jeffers said republicans shouldn't stroet for him because he's mormon and he called mormons a cult. romney, while not addressing yesterday's controversy, directly told the gathering, quote, poisonous language does not advance our cause, unquote. we have a live interview with pastor robert jeffers in a minute. >>> legendary coach, commissioner and owner al davis died. over the years his oakland raiders won countless championships including three super bowls, and who can forget that saying, just win, baby. goodell says his impact and legacy will forever be part of the nfl. al davis was 82. >>> two days after his death steve jobs was laid to rest in a private funeral. services were held yesterday at an unnamed location. the source says that the funeral was a small, family affair. he died wednesday in california from pancreatic cancer. >>> now, back to that controversy that's overshadowing the values voters summit in washington. prominent baptist pastor

but what we're focused here at the values voters summit is values and values issues.t people are looking for is where candidates stand on issues, where they stand on the life issue, where they stand -- wait a minute -- where they stand on marriage, where they stand on the family, as well as the other issues. and mitt romney has articulated positions consistent on those views and that's why he's comfortable in coming here to speak to value voters. >> he's coming there to speak tomorrow. now he's coming there in the middle of the dustup caused by dr. jeffress, who governor perry was talking about governor romney talking about inconsistenties and dr. jeffress raises issues about the romney record, fair game, in the round of politics. do you think it's fair game for him to tell reporters, and le understands, tony you, understand moment we're in in the campaign, governor perry has been struggling governor romney has a big lead, he leads in a poll that came outer in iowa. there's a big question about evangelical voters in iowa and south carolina. will this time around more

long as we're out talking economics medication and he says the right thing speaking of the value voters summit romney condemned rather than pandered to the hateful rhetoric coming from the american family association romney said we should remember the decency and civility are values to one of the speakers that will follow me today as prost that line poisonous language doesn't advance our cause it is never softened a single heart or changed a single mind well so i guess romney feels a little bit more comfortable moving to the rational middle now that rick perry is a blow to. the bad peter king taking a break from his mccarthy as hearings into american muslim communities public and congressman peter king went on the laura ingram show to warn the nation about the occupy wall street. if you're out there. you know kind of perfect order to pay for the anti-american phone anti-corporate. very very quickly i'm a little more free member but after tonight. we're left three rounds come out of media corps far from our premier policy paragraph there are no i guess king is referring to one to the left wing

some cain, not more money. >> he got a number of standing ovations, a lot of applause that value voters summit. he continues to slam the occupy wall street movement, calling the protesters anti-capitalists. we'll have more on that summit throughout the morning, expecting mitt romney and ron paul to address the voters later this morning. >>> right now, six minutes past the hour. details to give you about the white house involvement in that solindra loan deal. they're coming from e-mails the administration has just sent to congress. two house panels are looking into why the white house pushed for $535 million in federal loan guarantees for a california solar energy company that eventually went bankrupt. the loan was approved in may of 2010. solyndra filed for bankruptcy this year. e-mails give us insights into the white house and the push to give this loan to this company. one e-mail from an energy department adviser talking about getting the loan approved said, the "white house is breathing down my neck on this." the white house defended its handling of that loan. also, a quiet family gathering

jim acosta is at the values voter summit where rick perry was making his pitch. this is pure and simple red, neat politics. what do you think of what he said? did he make his case today when it comes to immigration? >> reporter: well, on that issue of in-state tuition for undocumented workers in texas, he's gotten beat up on it quite a bit. he made it pretty clear that the value voter summit that there should be no amnesty for undocumented workers and we've heard rick perry talk about this in recent weeks, talking about the drug war going on down in mexico and he used a phrase today that i'm not sure we've heard from rick perry, referred to it as a clear and present danger to the united states and also said that no options should be taken off of the table when it comes to dealing with mexico and the united states, under the perry administration, enters into a military cooperation with mexican forces the way that the united states did with colombia to fight the drug cartels. >> very specifically, he said, that being a governor has lived and breathed for a while no

thanks so much. >>> there was a decisive winner of the values voter summit in washington. we'll hear from that winner after the break. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. what's in the mail? well, it just might surprise you. because this is how people and business connect. feeling safe and secure that important letters and information don't get lost in thin air. or disappear with a click. but are delivered. from person to person. and, sometimes, even face to face. have a great day. you too. for some of the best ways to connect and protect... it's all in the mail. learn more at usps.com/mail. >>

. >>> now back to the values voters summit in washington where republican presidential candidate ron paul has just won the straw poll. cnn political reporter peter hamby joining us live again. peter, let's talk about how big paul's win was. >> reporter: well, ron paul wins straw polls all the time. he does it so often that a lot of republicans and a lot of the media doesn't pay attention. when they announced ron paul as the winner, a bunch of his supporters erupted in ron paul chants and everyone else in the room started booing them. looking further down the list, herman cain continues to do well among party activists. he finished second in the straw poll. and rick santorum, a fierce opponent of abortion rights, gave a strong speech here yesterday and he finished in third place. again, a lot of people are looking down the list, looking past ron paul a little bit. fair or not, he wins these straw polls all the time, diluting their importance at this point. >> let me ask you about baptist pastor robert jeffress who said that mitt romney is a mormon and that people shouldn't vote for hi

governor mitt romney has taken the stage at the value voter summit in washington, d.c. this is a collection of conservative activists. it's pretty much all the presidential candidates on the republican side have been addressing the people there over the past couple of days. you may have heard of the controversy that was sparked yesterday at this same value voters summit when the person who got up, pastor robert jeffers, got up on stage to introduce an opponent. he got up to introduce governor perry of texas. and he actually had some words to say about mitt romney. and his religion. some controversial remarks. he went on later to tell reporters that, in fact, he believes that mormonism is a cult and that mitt romney is not a true christian. so i tell you all that to set up what we're seeing today. mitt romney taking the stage. a lot of people wondering if he would address the controversy. he just took the stage moments before we hit the air here. we're going to start this from the very top and let you hear all of mitt romney's comments and he started by going after the p

the values voter summit. republican candidates are going to be there. not just the really fringey right wing ones. mitt romney is going to be there. this year if you check out the schedule you'll see mitt romney is scheduled to speak an saturday right before a man named brian fisher. remember, remember, remember our old pal brian fisher? >> we should not allow muslims to serve in the u.s. military and we have got to raise questions about who we can afford to allow muslims to emigrate into the united states at all. president barack obama nurtures a hatred for the united states of america and the white man. i do question the patriotism of groups like planned parenthood. they're subverting morality. liberals in the united states of america hate the declaration of independence. counterfeit religions, alternative religions to christianity have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. permits, in my judgment, should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the united states of america. not

at the values voter summit, ron paul won the poll followed by cain and rick santorum. perry and michele bachmann tide for fourth and romney came in sixth. >>> now a special report on advanced directive, part two on the problems of end of life medical care. too often, elderly patients become unable to say what kind of care they want. at the gunderson lutheran medical center in wisconsin, elderly patients are encouraged to make choices about their future care and sign advanced directives so everyone knows their wishes. lucky severson reports. >> what helps you when you face serious challenges in your life? >> well, i always get comfort from audrey, my wife. >> 61 years? >> of 61 years, yes. as of last friday. >> that's great. >> then our pastors. >> so your faith? >> yes. very important. >> conversations like this at gunderson lutheran hospital in wisconsin are what set off the nationwide outcry over the so-called death panels. this is curtis nelson connected to a dialysis machine with his wife audrey and his son, dennis. y is reecea is a nurse and guiding the discussion

several candidates head to washington for the value voters summit, an annual gathering of social conservatives, texas governor ron paul ron the straw poll with 37%. perry came in second with 23% of the vote. what's grabbing headlines is the introduction of texas governor, rick perry on friday, by megachurch pastor, robert jeffers. the perry supporter made some controversial remarks to reporters. bringing massachusetts governor mitt romney's religion into the spotlight. >> rick perry is an evangelical christian. mitt romney is a good person, but he's not a christian. mormonism is not christianity, it's always been considered a cult. it's the difference between a christian and nonchristian. >> the perry campaign maintains it did not ask jeffers to introduce perry. but the politico reports that the perry camp signed off on the choice. perry addressed the issue saying he does not believe that mormonism is a cult. yesterday on the sunday shows, other republican presidential contenders weighed in on the controversy and on the role of religion in politics. >> i'm not running for theologian in chief.

taken at the value voters summit, a gathering of social kwesh actives this weekend in washington. peter standing by and will join us in a few minutes to tell us who won. >>> anti-corporate anger keeps spreading. "occupy wall street" sister demonstrations have been held in more than a dozen cities across the country. protestors are taking on a number of issues including income disparities and corporate greed. >>> leon panetta says any agreement to leave american troops in iraq past the deadline to withdraw them at the end of the year must include immunity from iraqi prosecution. panetta made his comment after top iraqi leaders agreed a number of u.s. troops should remain in iraq, but said it was unnecessary to grant them immunity. >>> kansas city police say they're getting less cooperation from the family of a baby girl. the parents of the girl dispute that. she was last seen in her room late monday night. they say her mother failed a ledee tektor test and the father said he walked because he needed a break. >>> football fans are mourning the loss of al davis. the raiders won count

it's hardly the only big headline though, coming out of the value voter summit a bombshell dropped yesterday when a prominent evangelical pastor equated mitt romney's mormon faith to a cult. and not directly addressing those comments, telling the summit, such talk won't help. >> we should remember the desense aand civility are values, too, one of the speakers that follow he me today has crossed that line, i think, poisonous language doesn't advance our cause. >> and doug galloway from the voters summit in washington. hey, i understand those cult comments from yesterday are still reverberating today not just from the former massachusetts governor. tell us what's going on? >> that's right. really continues to be an issue here today. you heard what mitt romney had to say about it as they addressed the convention this morning. in introducing romney, talk show radio host, former secretary of education during the reagan administration, excoriated them for the remarks, listen up. >> i would say to pastor jeffers, you stepped on and obscured the words of perry, and santorum, and cain and bachmann an

jim, you were at the values voters summit. is perry distancing himself from the pastor? >> well, he's distancing himself somewhat. he was asked about it last night in iowa and he said he does not believe mormonism is a cult. the perry campaign says this was the event organizers who asked pastor jeffres to introduce perry not the perry campaign. i checked with the family resource council hosting the event, they said we did run this pastor past the perry campaign and he was okay with them. there is a bit of a controversy over the pastor's comments and whether or not they sort of had the tacit approval of the perry campaign. the romney campaign is not making that charge. they are basically stepping away from this controversy. they are not making any further comments. aid chance to talk to a spokesperson for the romney campaign after governor romney gave his speech. she said at point they have no plans for the former massachusetts governor to make any further comments on the subject. they believe that what this pastor had to say yesterday is beneath them and beneath governor

the reverend introduced rick perry at the values voter summit sparked controversy with comments he made about mormonism. >> rick perry the a christian. evangelical christian a follower of jesus christ. mitt romney's a good, moral person but not a christian. mormonism is not christianity. it has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of christianity. it's the difference between a christian and a non-christian. >> perry the campaign released a statement saying the governor does not believe mormonism is a cult. after a campaign event in iowa, perry was asked about his view of mormonism. >> governor, mormonism -- is it a cult? >> no. >> you really don't think so? >> i don't want to answer that -- >> attempting to distance himself, they did not choose him to give perry the introduction. they suggested the pastor. perry's campaign signed off on him. more on all this in a moment. >>> perry did not discuss romney's religion during his speech at the values voters summit but weighed in social issues and took a veiled shot at romney's stance on abortion. >> some candidates pro-life is an

interestingly, the values voters summit, there's at least one report, having talked to people at that, people are very, very concerned, as you can imagine with the economy and not so much with the social issues these days. so we'll see how that plays out, and, again, we'll discuss that this morning. >> christiane, we'll have to leave it there. thank you so much for your time this morning. be sure to watch christiane, more of her exclusive interview with democratic leader nancy pelosi later on "this week." dan? >>> time now to check out the other morning's headlines. i'll get it out eventually. the rest of the morning headlines with ron claiborne. >> using up my time here, dan. >> with ron claiborne who is already make fun of me. >> good morning to you, dan and bianna. good morning, everyone. >>> we begin with a controversial california law allowing illegal immigrants to get state-funded college aid. governor jerry brown signed the so-called california d.r.e.a.m. act on saturday saying it gives top students the chance to improve their own lives and those of others. it goes in effect in

back to your previous question, mitt romney won the value voter summit in '08. e voters summit suggests something. we're still looking for a candidate. we'll probably center on mitt romney in a couple weeks. >> pete? >> listen, i'm not a ron paul fan, but the difference between ron paul and barack obama and ron paul and mitt romney is ron paul doesn't hold up his finger and test the wind and decide which way he's going to advocate for policy. ron paul is not influenced by special interests and corporate money the way mainstream candidates and the democratic and republican parties are. again, i don't agree with a lot of what he says, i think a lot of what he says is bizarre but he's not as influenced in special interest. people should take that seriously and take his voice on that stage seriously and i'm glad he's up there to mix it up with the best of the carnival barkers. >> michele bachmann dismissing her latest poll numbers with candy crowley. >> candidates go up, candidates go down, and what we're very concerned about is making sure that the message gets out

ron paul just won the latest straw poll at the values voter summit.t mean for his candidacy and how the candidates are going to shape their battle? >> you know, if it was just straw polls, ron paul would be the republican presidential nominee. he won so many of these. he won the values voters straw poll this weekend. that was interesting because he doesn't appeal as much to social conservatives as he does fiscal conservatives and grassroots conservatives. so interesting. but ron paul, fred, he has so many devoted follower and enthusiastic supporters who come to these events. that's one of the reasons why he wins these straw polls. i think it is more of a reflection on his supporters and less on his overall strength in the battle for the nomination, fred. >> very interesting. paul steinhauser, thank you very much. for the latest political news, you know where to go. cnnpolitics.com.    ♪ and the flowers and the trees ♪ ♪ all laugh when you walk by ♪ and the neighbors' kids run and hide ♪ deep inside you, there's a person who refuses to be kept de

. >>> today's mandatory stop on the republican presidential campaign was the values voters summit in washington, d.c. rick perry got things started just by getting introduced by robert jeffress, senior pastor at dallas' first baptist church. >> do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction? do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person or do we want a candidate who is a born again follower of the lord jesus christ? rick perry is a proven leader. he is a true conservative. and he is a genuine follower of jesus christ. >> what jeffress means by genuine follower of jesus christ is, of course, not a mormon. a veiled reference to mitt romney's religion. rick perry didn't have to say much about that introduction, so he didn't. >> pastor, i want to say thank you for the rousing introduction. he knocked it out of the park as we like to say. and a fellow who on any given sunday is working with 10,000 texans in his church. so i just, again, want to say thank you. >> later in an explicit attack on mitt romney, reverend j

this is the value voter summit. let's listen to what he is saying. >> and now i bask in the joy of 16 grandchildren. [ applause ] >> for the last 42 years, ann has been my partner and joy. and she's done those things which have brought more happiness to our lives than anything that i have done. for she took the lead in raising our five boys. did you see that steve jobs was asked whether he was glad that he had children ? he said, it's 10,000 times better than anything i have ever done. [ applause ] but we know that marriage is more than personally rewarding social custom. it's also critical for the well being of a civilization. that's why it's so important to preserve the traditional marriage, the joining together of one man and one woman. [ applause ] and that's why i will appoint an attorney general who will defend the by partisan law signed by congress and signed by pill clinton, the defense of marriage act. [ applau [ applause ] and unfortunately, when it comes to marriage, the government's policy is out of step

. >> a showdown at the value voters summit. mitt romney speak was highly anticipated following comments from the tax is passed on to says christians should not vote for romney because he is a mormon. romney through a few small budgets. >> we must respect religious values, not silence them. will always pledged our allegiance to a nation that is under god. >> robbery did stand by his fateith. >> decency and civility and things listed in value. poison is a language does not advance our cause. >> religion was not the only topic on the table. decanted tackled other major issues like unemployment and the economy. one thing they agree on, it is time for a new commander in chief. >> we were on the right track at one time, let's get back on the track and restored liberty, prosperity and peace. >> if you will be with me, together, we will decisively defeat barack obama and over the next few years, we will decisively reclaim america as the land of the three into the home of the great. >> shelby lynn, kron4 news. >>vicki: barack obama is s

. >> good afternoon to you and interesting back and forth in the value's voters summit over the remarks by dallas pastor robert juvries in brucing governor perry called mormonism a "cult". rick perry said that the pastor hit it out of the ball park fast forward and mitt romney peeking here and he was introduced by a talk radio show host bill bennett who -- listen to his remarks. >> i would say to pastor jeffreys. you stepped on and obscured the words of perry and sanatorium and cain and bachmann and everyone else. you did rick perry no good, sir in what you had to say. >> and then romney took the stage and he is adroit and managed to weigh in on the issue and remn above the fray. here's romney. >> speaking of hitting it out of the park. how about that bill bennett, he is something else. romney received a warm welcome from a socially conservative crowd when he addressed one of the issues red-hot to them. on abortion. >> the law may call it a right. but no one called it a good and in the quiet of conscience, people of both political parties know that more than a million abortions can't be

most of the republican candidates for president are at the action values voter summit. one of them, herman cain, is also going to be appearing in arlington. >> it has been dubbed the primary scramble. florida move to mid-january. nevada move to mid-january. the candidates are scrambling to reach out to every voter. today, that included the washington area. he went from relative unknown to rock star status in the republican field. >> this is the only human being i would wait in line for. >> former godfather's pizza and ceo herman cain was met by a mob of reporters and voters. and the crash -- in the crush of camera crews herman cain said he was going beyond ethnic lines. >> i believe my campaign can go to virginia. if you have a good solution that appeals to people, it transcends geography. >> all other contenders are in washington for the conservative value of voters conference. they took aim at the democrats for the poor economy. >> you cannot rev up the engine of economic growth by keeping higher taxes on job creators. you cannot spread success by punishing. >> today,