Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iowans Make Up Their Minds; Manhunt at Mt. Rainier; Iran Test- Fires Missiles; Fewer Murders In Juarez In 2011; Temps To Drop Below Normal; Molotov Cocktail Attacks In New York; 200 Blackbirds Found Dead In Arkansas; Good Samaritans Save Three Kids Trapped In Car; Paul Says No Plans For Third-Party Run; Suspected Arson Spreads Across L.A.; Mitt Romney Gives Press Conference

Aired January 02, 2012 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody, I'm Drew Griffin in today for Randi Kaye. We've got a real busy hour ahead. Let's get you straight to the news.

Being first means an awful lot in politics, and that's why so much is riding on a few hundred informal gatherings across Iowa. Thirty-one hours from now, the Iowa caucuses are the first contest of the Republican presidential nominating season. And who's on top in Iowa? Well, it depends on who you ask. Most of the major names have led the polls at some point but the prides for best timing may go to this guy. After many months at rock bottom, Rick Santorum made a move last week and now seems firmly in the top three and drawing crowds he only dreamt about a month ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm asking you to not settle for someone who as your nominee, who might be able to win the election, but the election would be aspheric (ph) victory. In other words, we wouldn't have a candidate who was going to be elected president who will do what's necessary of what America needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And if you missed it, that swipe was at Mitt Romney. Romney, Gingrich, and Mitt Perry and Michele Bachmann all have campaign events in Iowa this hour. We're going to dip in live where and when we can. CNN of course, the place you want to be tomorrow night. We begin getting results from the Iowa caucuses. America's choice 2012 special live coverage of these Iowa caucuses beginning tomorrow night 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN. We won't get too far away from all that's happening in Iowa, but since it's the top of the hour, let's get you caught up on some of the other news that is happening at this hour.

A so-called person of interest is being held for questioning in Los Angeles. After another night of apparent serial arson, so far more than 50 deliberate fires have been set, like this one, since last week. Mostly in parked cars, though the flames have spread to buildings. No one has been hurt. Stick around, we're going to get the latest on this spree from L.A.'s biggest arson streak since those riots back in '92. We'll hear from the mayor himself, Antonio Villaraigosa. He will join me live 20 past the hour.

Police in Washington state have a definite suspect in yesterday's shooting death of a park ranger at Mt. Rainier National Park. But, boy, finding him hasn't been easy. This is the guy, Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24 years old, he's believed to be not only heavily armed but wearing body armor and somewhere in the vast and rugged wilderness surrounding Mt. Rainier. A park ranger Margaret Anderson was gunned down while trying to stop a car that had refused another ranger's order to pull over. The suspect then fled into the Park. Barnes is also wanted in an earlier shooting that wounded four people.

Iran flexing its muscles again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): (INAUDIBLE.)

GRIFFIN: This is coming Iran's state media reporting that Iran successfully test fired two long range sea to shore and surface to surface missiles today. Yesterday, Iran test fired a medium range radar evading (ph) missiles. The naval exercise is in the Gulf seeing further evidence of Iran's volatile behavior. Iran has warned it could shut down the Straits of Vermouth, the pack way through which much of the world's oil is shipped, if sanctions are imposed on its oil exports. U.N. sanctions are intended to force Iran to curb nuclear ambitions for that country.

In New Mexico, border city of Juarez, is something new. The "El Paso Times" says there's been a drop in homicides, a huge one, amid the ongoing the drug cartel battle. They're reporting 38 percent fewer in 2011 than in 2010. Still a lot, though, 1,900 homicides in that city in 2011 according to the" El Paso Times."

Turning now to the East Coast, it's going to really start feeling like winter. Looking at live pictures from Cleveland and Indianapolis where it has started snowing. A cold snap is expected to move in tomorrow, temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below normal from New York to Florida. And expect temps to drop to the teens and single digits over portions of the Midwest.

Three arson attacks being investigated in New York. Police say Molotov cocktails were thrown at an Islamic center, a Mexican convenience store and a private home Sunday night in Queens. Nobody hurt. And a possible fourth incident, fire damaged part of a house but police not sure if that's related. Governor Andrew Cuomo condemned the attacks in a statement saying, quote, "Such acts go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and as Americans."

Another year, same strange story in central Arkansas, 200 birds found dead in Beebe after the new year's fireworks. People have been finding them in yards and driveways but this time, just not as many. Last year you might remember the 5,000 that fell from the sky. But a wildlife official says someone may have purposely set off fireworks near the birds who were roosting in trees.

Back to Iowa now. The GOP candidates have one day left to show caucus goers what they've got. But here's a question for you, does it even matter who wins? That's coming up. Plus, some say conservative Republicans have finally picked their anti-Mitt Romney candidate. So, who is it? And a live reminder, we're just minutes away from a live campaign event from Mitt Romney. We're going to bring that to you when it gets under way.

But first, a story about a group of good Samaritans making a daring rescue. Three kids trapped in a car after their father lost control. It plunged into that river in Utah and landed upside down. Witnesses saw it, came to the rescue in those icy waters. They had to flip the car over in order to get those kids out. All three kids were pulled to safety. They're now in fair condition. A case of strangers helping strangers. And to the good Samaritans who came to the rescue, well, we want to say, you are today's "Rock Stars."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Looking at live pictures of an event where Mitt Romney is about to speak, that's in Dubuque, Iowa, the Eastern side of the state. We're going to bring that to you live when he shows up and he begins speaking.

Earlier, I mentioned the Santorum surge in the pre-caucus polling in Iowa. Not everyone is impressed by Santorum, the surge or the polls, for that matter. Case in point, Ron Paul. He is polling somewhere in the top three and who headlined an event last hour in Des Moines. Just before that event you're looking at, he and his son, GOP Senator Ran Paul, spoke with CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rick Santorum is a former senator. You know what it's like to serve in the Senate, you know what it's like to serve in the Congress, why wouldn't he be a good Republican nominee?

REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because he's very liberal.

BASH: Rick Santorum's liberal?

PAUL: Have you looked at his record? Go look at his record. I mean he --

BASH: What makes him liberal?

PAUL: He spent too much money. I mean, he wasn't leading the charge to slash the government and vote against big government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Dana joins us live from Des Moines. He also said he was excited by the enthusiasm for his campaign. Really? I mean, is there a huge enthusiasm out of him today? He looked kind of down in the dumps, to tell you the truth. BASH: I think he -- maybe that tends to be his personality but he certainly was very, very different, Drew, when he got behind the podium and spoke to his supporters here, and there was a big crowd here in Des Moines. This is first of several stops that he's going to have around the state, today, with his son, Senator Ron Paul. And he really did seem to pone his message more to get to a couple of bullet points which all are the idea that he is a libertarian, that idea that he will cut spending more than anybody else in the race, which is true, the fact that he wants to reduce government more than everyone else in the race, and on foreign policy, he wants to bring troops home from all overseas posts.

But one thing that I actually also asked him about was the fact that Republicans by and large are very worried with his candidacy for a number of reasons, but what they're worried about I think long term is the fact that he might either stay in this race too long or maybe even leave the Republican party and run as he has before as a libertarian and take votes away from Republicans. I asked that, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: If you do not succeed in this Republican contest or contests, will you continue to be a --

PAUL: I have no plans in doing that. Tomorrow is a big day. We're going to see what happens but I have no intention of doing that, no plans, and no desire and flat-out I don't want to.

BASH: OK. Because before you've been a little bit circumspect. You've run as a libertarian before.

PAUL: Right. And I've never spoken in absolutes. I have no plans to do and no intention of doing it. And I would not see myself as doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: He still said -- did not say flatly, I will not do it, but he came closer to saying that which maybe will have some Republicans breathing a sigh of relief. But the one -- the other thing that he was talking about here is the fact that he does reach out to and appeal to independents and Democrats because of what he calls his libertarian views and anti-interventionists -- he doesn't like the term isolationist, he calls it anti-interventionist views. And we'll see if that helps him tomorrow.

But Drew, I got to tell you, I talked to a lot of Republicans in and around the state who have been here for a long time who know what it's like and what it takes to get people out to the caucuses and they do say they believe -- it's very secretive, but they believe that Ron Paul really does have the tremendous organization in place that really could help him big time tomorrow.

GRIFFIN: Dana, thanks. There's no question he has some true believers. Roland Martin joins us now. Thanks again, Dana. You know, we've been herein him say everything but no, I won't run for third party nominee. Why -- is he dancing around the issue or is he just being Ron Paul?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, because first of all, why would he want to have a conversation about a third party nomination when you're trying to win the Republican nomination? And so, you don't get to that until you actually are out of the running for the -- for the GOP nomination. Here's a guy who's been at the top of the polls in Iowa for quite some time, and so it makes perfect sense to say, I'll deal with this later, I'm focused on this right now.

DREW: You know, what's interesting about Ron Paul supporters is they are Ron Paul supporters not looking for anybody else. And I'm wondering if he does get out of this race eventually -- you know, not now, not through South Carolina, do they go anywhere or do they just stay home?

MARTIN: Well first of all, we really don't know. I mean, look, there are folks who obviously support him. I would believe they still would look to who is the best person that would fill the void in other areas. And so, there might be some people out there that who say, I don't care, there's only one person I'm looking for. You look at Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, he has said he's going to seek the libertarian nomination. Could they go there? We simply don't know. And so, I don't think he would just simply sit out. They might say, fine, my guy isn't there, who should I pick now?

GRIFFIN: Let's talk about Iowa big picture. Small state, getting a lot of attention, does it really matter?

MARTIN: Iowa doesn't matter, but it's one of 50 states. You know, Frankly, I'm sick and tired of these media people acting like, oh, if you lose Iowa, you should jump out of the race, that's it. No, I think it is a (INAUDIBLE.) You live in Georgia, and Tennessee, and South Carolina, and Nevada, and California, and Washington state, and Oregon, and the rest of the states, as somehow you don't get a opportunity to choose a nominee.

You have to get nearly 1,200 delegates to win the GOP nomination. I think it will be idiotic for any candidate to drop out of the campaign after what takes place tomorrow night. You don't know what's going to happen in New Hampshire, or South Carolina, or in Nevada, or in Florida. This is why you must have a national campaign, and we've got to stop this nonsense of putting all this emphasis on one state when there are 49 other states an Americans who live in those states and Republicans who live in those states who should have the right to choose their nominee, not just the people in a couple of states.

GRIFFIN: All right. Let me ask you real quick about Romney and anti-Romney, which it seems like this is coming down to and where are the anti-Romneys going to coalesce?

Romney's been pretty steady, mid-20s, polling, and everybody's dancing around underneath him. At some point, do all of those people get together and say, you know, we just don't want you, Mitt Romney? MARTIN: Well first of all, I do believe that this campaign will go through March, April, May because of that strong anti-Romney sentiment. I believe those people, first of all, have money and they might keep a Santorum and a Perry in the race beyond the first four states. And so, I'm not buying this other media talk after the first two states, if he wins them, everybody else drops by the wayside. He is going to have to earn this nomination the same way senator Obama had to earn the nomination against Senator Clinton in 2008.

GRIFFIN: Right. And you don't see anybody leaving after this race?

MARTIN: No, I don't. And it doesn't make any sense for them to leave. I think Tim Pawlenty, right now, is regretting the fact that he dropped out of the race. We keep saying, conventional wisdom, you need the money. Guess what? If you don't like Romney, somebody will open their checkbook if you stay in the race.

GRIFFIN: All right, thanks a lot, Roland.

MARTIN: All right, Drew.

GRIFFIN: We'll see you all through the next few days.

And, you know, CNN is the place you want to be tomorrow night as we begin getting finally getting results for the election, right? Iowa caucuses. "America's Choice 2012." Special live coverage of the Iowa caucuses beginning tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

There is a manhunt underway right now for this guy. He is suspected of shooting and killing a park ranger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED TROYER, PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We know at minimum he's got an assault rifle. He's already shot some people at a party earlier. He's killed a law enforcement officer. And he's out there armed. So we're doing what we can to catch him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: This search for the suspects Mt. Rainier shooting, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: There is a manhunt underway right now in Washington state. Police searching for this man. His name is Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24 years old. The main suspect in the New Year's Day shooting at Mt. Rainier National Park. Believed to be hiding somewhere in that park. Barnes suspected of shooting and killing Margaret Anderson, a park ranger. Rangers were attempting to pull over the driver just to check if he had snow chains, but he failed to stop. So Anderson set up a road block. That's when the driver pulled up, opened fire, and then fled on foot. The park's been closed ever since. Mt. Rainier spokeswoman Lee Taylor joins us now on the phone.

And thank you for joining us.

I want to ask you, are you actively going into the woods trying to find this guy, or is this a matter of cordoning off an area of the park and waiting it out or trying to see what else you can do?

LEE TAYLOR, MT. RAINIER SPOKESPERSON (via telephone): No, it's actually both. We've cordoned off the park and we're watching all of the places with a person could -- conceivably could exit on foot. But we do also have special weapons and tactical teams out in the woods tracking him and trying to locate and apprehend him.

GRIFFIN: And is there any contact with this person at all? Do we know if he has a cell phone that you are able to find and try to call and make contact?

TAYLOR: No. There's no cell phone that I'm aware of and no effort to try to contact him.

GRIFFIN: And finally, if I could just ask you, he -- we're told he is armed and dangerous. Did somebody see him fleeing into those woods with weapons?

TAYLOR: He was seen fleeing into the woods. We're confident that he has a weapon. He is armed and very dangerous. And it's a huge challenge for the officers who are out in the field because, obviously, we're looking for someone who does not want to be caught and who may retaliate with deadly force if someone gets near him.

GRIFFIN: Well, Lee Taylor, we know you have a very, very big park to protect by a very, very small family of people who do that. And our condolences certainly out to the family of the ranger and to you as well as you, one, try to get over this tragedy, and, two, try to catch this guy to bring some closure to this.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Thank you for going us.

Forget with the smog. Folks in Los Angeles say the air smells like burnt rubber. Somebody has been setting 54 fires across that city in the last few days. Car torched, homes burned as a result of this. A man is being questioned. Up next, L.A.'s mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, joining me to talk about what the heck is going on there on a day when, quite frankly, you guys should be celebrating New Years an worrying about the Rose Bowl Parade. We'll see you in a minute, mayor.

And you're looking at a Mitt Romney campaign event happening right now. This is in Dubuque, Iowa. We're going to bring you some of his comments coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: In today's "Crime & Consequence," we want to take you now to Los Angeles. Scenes like these have explode across the city. The latest in a wave of suspected arsons that began on Friday. And when I say wave, this is what I'm talking about. Right now investigators have detained and are questioning a man in connection with suspected arson fires.

Fifty-four fires of concern is what they are calling them. You can see many of them are concentrated in the Hollywood area. This fire, along with 10 others like it, just from this morning. The whole situation, as you can imagine, has a lot of people in Los Angeles on edge. And the mayor there, Antonio Villaraigosa, along with fire expert Robert Rowe, both join us live from Los Angeles to take a closer look at this.

Mayor Villaraigosa, I just want to start by asking you, they've got a guy, they're questioning him now. Is this the guy? Is this over?

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: There -- at this point they're calling him a person of interest. He was detained in the city of Los Angeles at Sunset and Fairfax. He was detained by a sheriff deputy in the city. I can tell you that the police, the LAPD, the sheriff's department, ATF, there are hundreds of investigators working on this following what could be thousands of leads when it's all said and done. They have not called this person a suspect yet, but he is a person of interest.

I can tell you that there were 53 files, now 54 it looks like. One of them was double counted. Forty-three of them in the city of Los Angeles. The other two in west Hollywood, in Burbank, surrounding cities.

You said it, it's unfortunate. In fact, it's an absolute -- an abomination that this person would do this in a very densely populated area of Los Angeles. We're very fortunate that nobody was killed. There was one firefighter who was slightly injured. More than $2 million in damage. And it could have been much worse. But again, at this point, this person is only a person of interest.

GRIFFIN: Yes, it certainly could have been a lot worse considering -- I mean if you don't know L.A., a lot of these carports are directly under buildings. So when the fire starts in a car, it generally can move up into the garage and into the building itself.

Mayor, based on what you've been told, does it appear that all 53 now, as you say, of these fires were extremely similar? Or is it possible that there are copycats out there or more than one person doing this in more than one way?

VILLARAIGOSA: It is possible that there are copycats. There were two other people arrested earlier in the week that may have been involved as well. At this point, I can't speculate on that. Again, this person is not a suspect, only a person of interest. But there's some reason to believe that the vast majority of these fires was started by the same person or persons.

GRIFFIN: Robert Rowe, based on serial arsonists in the past, why would this happen? Why would a person do this?

ROBERT ROWE, DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL: Well, there's a lot of motives and reasons why people do this type of thing. Example, some being thrill seeking, some for excitement, some for recognition, some for revenge. So it's difficult at this point, as the mayor said, to really profile this person of interest. But there are a lot of reasons why people set fires, which is very unfortunate.

GRIFFIN: Is it also true that a serial arsonist of this magnitude would not stop but would have to be stopped?

ROWE: Well, in this case, yes. I mean you have to follow every lead and you have to vigorously pursue the investigations by processing the fire scenes and just following every lead until you finally do stop this person.

GRIFFIN: But, in other words, this person, whatever set him off or whatever started this would not just stop on his own?

ROWE: I don't believe so. I believe that until he gets caught, that's when these fires will stop.

GRIFFIN: Mr. Mayor, there's a lot of nervous people in your city and the surrounding area. Obviously this guy has struck mostly in the night from what I gather. Will there be some relief for residents of Los Angeles or the coming hours where they can kind of go to sleep without peering out their window?

VILLARAIGOSA: I certainly hope so. I've been briefed through the night over the last few nights. I can tell you that there are a couple of hundred investigators working seamlessly together from various local and federal departments. These people are very dedicated. They take this very, very seriously, as we all do. We also believe that this person would continue to do what he was doing and -- or she was doing. I don't want to make it -- I don't want to say that, at this point, that we know for sure if it was male or female.

But what we do know is that there is a person of interest. We've done everything we could. We're going to continue to follow every single lead. We want to get -- we want to make sure that the person that we have is the person. If we believe that we need to follow those leads somewhere else, we will do that as well.

GRIFFIN: All right, mayor, thank you. If I'm reading between the lines, you're telling those people who may know something to keep dialing in, keep sending those tips in because this may not be the guy, though we certainly hope he is.

Mayor Villaraigosa, thank you so much.

VILLARAIGOSA: That's exactly right.

GRIFFIN: And happy New Year to you. I hope it's a quiet night in your city.

VILLARAIGOSA: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Richard Rowe, thank you for joining us with your expertise as well.

Gentlemen, thank you. We're going back to Iowa now. This is Dubuque and Mitt Romney on the stump.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ten percent in the last four years. This president's failed the American economy and the American people. And as you know, those numbers are not just statistics. People out of work. That's kids who can't start a job coming out of college. That's young families that can't get started. That's people in their 50s in the prime of their life that are worried that if they lose a job, they won't be able to find another one. It's people in the retirement age that wonder whether they'll be able to retire. It's -- this is a tough time.

And then, of course, another failure, the budget and government. He was critical of President Bush. He said that 450-some-odd billion dollar budget shortfall deficit was outrageous. And, in fact, it was. But he put in place budgets three times -- deficits three times that large. Matter of fact, he's on track by the end of his first term -- his only term -- by the way --

(CHEERING)

ROMNEY: He's on track to amass as much public debt, almost as much as all the prior presidents combined. This president's failed. He went on the "Today" show shortly after being inaugurated and said, if I can't get this economy turned around in three years, I'll be looking at a one-year proposition. I'm here to collect. We're going to take it back. We're going to be taking it back.

(CHEERING)

ROMNEY: You see, when it comes to jobs and the private sector, I think it helps to have one if you plan on creating some. And I have.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: Let me play you what I'm going to do to solve the kinds of problems he was unable to solve. First, with regards to getting our economy going again, there are some things that have to be done. One, we have to make sure that America once again is the best place in the world for entrepreneurs and inventors, for business creators, for people who want to hire other people. That's how it works. Government does not create jobs.

Free American people pursuing their own dreams that is how we create jobs. How do I do that? I make America an attractive place for business. The head of Coca-Cola -- did you see this? This is an American icon. He said the business environment in China is better than the business environment here. That's just happened under this president. I have small business people tell me almost every day that they feel under attack from this administration. I want to get our employer tax rates competitive with other nations. I want to get regulators to see their job as to courage business, not to crush it. I will impose a block -- I'll put a hold on every Obama-era regulation and get rid of those that kill jobs in America.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I'll also take advantage of our energy resources. We've got a lot of oil, gas, coal, gas, nuclear, renewable resources. Let's stop acting like an energy poor nation and start developing our own resources here and become energy secure!

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: And I want to open up more markets for American goods. I want to make sure the products that we make can be sold around the world. This president has made it harder in some respects because other nations have been doing that. Europe, European nations and China have put together some 44 new agreements between themselves and other nations to open up the sales of their products around the world.

During that time, guess how many agreements President Obama put in place? Zero, in the last three years. I want to open up markets for our goods. And when people cheat, when people like China steal our intellectual property, our patents, our designs, our technology, our brand names, and when they steal those things, when they hack into our computers and manipulate their currency, I will say no to that. I will designate China as a currency manipulator and crackdown on them to keep them from killing American jobs.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I've also got to balance the budget. It is time are for to us cut federal spending and to cap it and to have a balanced budget. You say, how are you going to do that because everybody who runs for office says they'll do it. You hear that day in and day out. Let me tell you how you can have confidence that I know how to get the job done. Number one, because I spent my life in business, 25 years.

Tim, if you don't -- if you don't spend less than -- are you going to spend less --

(LAUGHTER)

Are you going to let those people come through? You can't spend more than I take in every year or you'll go broke. Right? That's what happens in business and your families.

If you spend more than you take in year after year after year, you're in trouble, as has happened to our country. I've learned in the private sector that you can't spend more than you take in. I know how to balance budgets. I ran two different businesses. We balanced our budget, and made a little profit in addition.

And then I want to make sure that -- you know, at the Olympics, I came in, we were in trouble, and I balanced the budget. In Massachusetts, I cut spending. Didn't just slow down the rate of growth. I came in and we actually cut spending. Then we balanced the budget every one of the four years I was there, and put in place a rainy day fund of over $2 billion. I've done it. I will do it. How? Well, I mean, look at all the programs we have in government. I'm going to get rid of a lot of them.

I'm not just going to slow down the rate of growth. I'm going to stop them all together. Here's my test. Is this program so critical to America that it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? On that basis, I'm going to cut out some things that I know we like but we just can't afford. There's some I don't know we like. I'm going to get rid of Obama-care on day one. We're going to get rid of that one right away.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: Some programs I'll send back to the states, where I think they could be better run. I'm also going to take the federal government that remains and shrink the work force by about 10 percent through attrition. Then I'll link the pay of government workers with the pay in the private sector. I don't think government workers --

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: -- should make more than the people who pay for them.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: This is an election about jobs, about our economy, about the budget, the scale of government. But it's about something more. It is not just an election about policy and procedures, or dollars and cents, or even election just about a person replacing President Obama. It's also an election about the soul of America. This country was founded with an extraordinary set of principles. These principles I think are what define America and what have driven there country to be the hope of the earth, the shining city on the hill. We were given political freedom, from the outset, the right to choose the people who would represent us. We were also given opportunity, freedom to choose our course in life. Not just free to choose who would represent us, but free to choose what we do in life.

We are an opportunity nation. When the founders crafted this country, they saw such extraordinary vision that they were cognizant that if you gave people the ability to pursue their dreams, and they did so successfully they'd lift the entire nation, and that's what's happened. We're a merit society, an opportunity society, where people, through education or hard work, risk taking, dreams, can build enterprises, can build farms, can build places like this that Jim's grandfather began. That's the story of America.

GRIFFIN: That's Romney on the stump today, one day before the big Iowa caucus. Senator John Thune, from South Dakota, in back of him, who has obviously endorsed Romney.

How is this going to play out tomorrow? Will Cain and Ed Espinoza are standing by. They are also to weigh in on Newt Gingrich, hammering Mitt Romney over negative ads in Iowa.

It's all "Fair Game."

But first, our "Political Junkie" question of the day: Which candidate grabbed the highest percentage of the vote in Iowa caucus vote in history? The answer just ahead.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SINGING)

GRIFFIN: Before the break the question was: Which candidate got the highest percentage of the vote in Iowa caucus history. The answer -- Tom Harkin, a veteran Iowa Senator. He got 76 percent in 1992. Bill Clinton finished fourth that year but, of course, went on to win the White House.

This is the part of the show where we go to the heart of the political debate where all sides are "Fair Game."

We are now just one day away from the Iowa caucuses, the first test that really matters. But does it matter too much?

Joining me, CNN contributor, Will Cain; and Democratic political consultant, Ed Espinoza.

Guys, Florida pushed this all -- domino down the line when they moved their primary to the end of January. Iowa pushed theirs up to the beginning of January, which is tomorrow, so they stay first. But does being first carry too much weight in this process -- Will?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. I've been on this war path for a while now. The winner of Iowa is going to come out with seven delegates. Second place comes out with six. One delegate difference. New Hampshire a week later, not much difference. The winner has a one or two-delegate lead on the other in second place. Reminder here -- you need 1,100-plus to win the nomination. You're playing for buzz, Drew. You're playing for conversation, for the question you are asking right now, Drew. That's what you're playing for.

GRIFFIN: But, Ed, it is about that buzz, and I think that is why it may be important, because the person who comes in top or second to the top or unexpectedly third is probably going to get two or even three days of chatter about this heading right into New Hampshire.

ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Yes, it matters. Will and I went back and forth on Twitter about this earlier today. There's actually very good points to be made on both sides. Does Iowa weight too much, do the early states weigh too much? This is what I like about early states. Having worked in Iowa and having been a super delegate for Obama, having gone through this process, when you go to a small state, candidates, like Rick Santorum, like every other Republican who's lead at one point, have a chance to make their name with the people regardless of how much money they have in the bank or what their name recognition is. So there is some process and value to that.

There's also another thing that's to be gained from early states, which is, what kind of momentum do these candidates pick up. That might not translate a whole lot in terms of delegates but it does show what their durability is in this process. I'll tell you who is watching that. The donors are watching that and that's going to matter in the long run.

GRIFFIN: Ed, I want to follow up on the durability question. You did write about Romney and how he has pretty much stayed mid 20s throughout all the games that have happened underneath him, whether the candidate was rising or falling underneath him. Is there -- and I asked this to Roland Martin as well. Is there a chance after Iowa there is a definitely coalescing around a specific anti-Romney guy that could go across the 24 percent, 25 percent mark?

ESPINOZA: Typically, in the Republican primary, you see voters start to coalesce around a frontrunner. But as we've talked about before -- Will has made a point about this as well. We proportional -- the delegates are allocated on a proportional basis now for the first time ever. That changes the dynamic. When candidates start to drop out of this race, others, who may have come in second or third, tend to be more viable because they've got as many delegates as the next guy. Romney, who was at 24 percent in the "Des Moines Register" poll on New Year's Eve, was at 23 percent in the same poll in June. He's plateaued in the state. He's got to find a way to break through and, right now, we haven't seen what that way is going to be for him.

(CROSSTALK)

CAIN: Drew, I'd like to touch on that real quick. The ideas that candidates like Perry and Bachmann and Santorum, should they prove not to win the nomination, are all going to get together and provide an anti-Romney candidate. I'm not buying that. That's something that we're imposing on. And, in fact, the voters are imposing upon this. Among the candidates, I actually don't see a ton of animus towards Romney, and conversely, a ton of love between Bachmann, say, and Perry. I don't know, down the road, just because we see them all as fractured, anti-Romneys, they can come together and say, we should come together and all oppose him. I think some are holding back fire for a potential placement within a Romney win or Romney administration.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

Well, let me just ask you real quick and we're going to end it there --

ESPINOZA: If they come around to Romney, if they come around, it will be reluctantly. The problem is when we keep seeing these flavor- of-the-month candidates, it is because one drops out or one falls from the frontrunner position, and instead of gravitating towards Romney, they go to the next selection, then the next selection, then the next one. I think that's demonstrating a lack of commitment to Romney. Maybe they'll come around but we don't know for sure yet. GRIFFIN: Let me ask you both, real quickly, any bombs tomorrow night, drops out on Wednesday or you just want to hang around as much as you can in this race and wait for the other guy to topple?

CAIN: I don't see anybody dropping out. With proportional delegation representation and of couple of other states coming up, South Carolina, like that, I think we could see Bachmann and such hang around for a while.

GRIFFIN: OK.

Ed, Will, thank you.

ESPINOZA: This Iowa primary is as unpredictable as the NCAA tournament first round. If somebody has the money to stay in, they will stay in.

(LAUGHTER)

GRIFFIN: Oh, you shouldn't say that about the NCAA. It's not about the money, right?

(LAUGHTER)

Ed, Will, thanks, guys.

That's "Fair Game."

CNN's got you guys covered tomorrow as results from the Iowa caucuses begin to come in. It's "America's Choice 2012," special live coverage of the Iowa caucuses tomorrow night, right here, 7:00 eastern on CNN.

We'll he is perhaps the least talked about candidate running in Iowa right now. Get ready. You'll hear a lot more from that guy -- President Obama. The first family's vacation in Hawaii officially ends later this evening, but Iowa is now in his sights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: R&B singer, Cee-Lo Green, has some John Lennon fans seeing red. I know, crappy pun, but -- you see, Cee-Lo sang Lennon's famous song, "Imagine," for folks in Times Square in New Year's. There's nothing wrong with that, except for this, he decides to take some artistic liberties with the lyrics and changes a key line in the song. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: That was deliberate. Here's the original lyric in Lennon's "Imagine," "nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too." Cee Lo saying this, "Nothing to kill or die for, and all religions true." Lennon fans immediately took to Twitter, blasting the guy for blasphemy -- their word. Cee-Lo eventually responded, saying this, "Yo, I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric, guys! I was trying to say a world where you could believe what you wanted, that's all." Apparently, in this world, Lennon fans believe what you did was pretty unbelievable.

Back in a moment.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Here is a look at stories making news "Street Level."

First to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu. President Obama and his family will go back to Washington after vacation. The president will turn his attention to Iowa. He's also taking part in the caucuses tomorrow, unopposed in the Democratic race. He will address Iowa Democrats over a live feed.

Also in Honolulu, a historic moment just minutes into the New Year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: We now pronounce that you are legally joined as partners in life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And, with that, several same-sex couples became the first in the state's history to enter into civil unions. Online applications for civil union licenses became available at midnight. Hawaii, along with Delaware, the latest of five states now recognizing same-sex civil unions. Six other states and Washington, D.C., allow same-sex marriage.

In a Texas airport, explosives -- an Army soldier charged with attempting to board a plane with explosives. Police arrested 30-year- old Trey Atwater over the weekend at Midland International Airport. TSA said to have military grade explosives in his carry-on. They spotted them during an x-ray screening. The airport was evacuated for about an hour.

Big sports news out of Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired head coach, Raheem Morris. He gets the ax after the Bucs ended the year with a 10-game losing streak. I saw that game yesterday. You wonder why it took so long. Buccaneer's general manager said this, "I have a lot of respect and appreciation for the passion coach Morris gave to our football team, but this change is one we felt was necessary." We're going to get more details in about an hour when the team make it official at a news conference 3:00 p.m. eastern time.

We're a day away from the Iowa caucuses, but don't tell that to the nearly half of the Iowa votes goers who haven't made up their mind. What's up with that?

CNN political guru, Paul Steinhauser, in Des Moines. We'll ask him.

Be with you in a minute, Paul. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We are closing in on the first votes in the Republican presidential race. It's the Iowa caucuses, of course.

And CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, is in Des Moines.

Paul, we have new numbers to talk about at this very, very late hour.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We do, just out in the last hour or two, Drew. This is a poll of people likely to go to those caucuses tomorrow night by American Research Group. Let's take a look. Look who's on the top, same guy we've seen in the other polls, including our CNN/"Time"/ORC poll from the other day. Mitt Romney, 22 percent; Ron Paul at 17 percent; Santorum at 16 percent; Gingrich at 15 percent; everybody else in single digits. This poll very much in line with our poll that made big news late Wednesday and that NBC/Maris poll from Friday.

Santorum's poll numbers are going up but not the only thing going up for the former Senator from Pennsylvania. So are his fundraising numbers. His campaign telling us, Drew, just in the last week they've raised more money than they have online pretty much all of the last six months. Pretty incredible stuff.

He was in Polk City, Iowa, earlier today, and he got this question from the mayor of the town. He was doing an event there and the mayor said, listen, your poll numbers are going up. But if you win the nomination, can you really take on President Obama come next November, when it comes to campaign fund raising? Listen to what Santorum said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY HEUERTZ, (R), MAYOR OF POLK CITY, IOWA: Sir, I'm one of those people here in Iowa sitting on the edge trying to make up my mind.

RICK SANTORUM, (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come on over. Come on.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the mayor of Polk City.

(CROSSTALK)

SANTORUM: Mr. Mayor, please. Thank you.

HEUERTZ: I like what you've got to say.

SANTORUM: Thank you.

HEUERTZ: But I also know that Obama's pockets are really deep when it comes to finances. Hopefully you have those finances to carry on after you win tomorrow night, you go on to New Hampshire?

SANTORUM: I like what you're saying.

(LAUGHTER)

HEUERTZ: Hopefully, you've got the finances and the support out there to carry your campaign forward.

SANTORUM: I would just say this. We've raised more money in the last few days than we have in the last few months.

(LAUGHTER)

And going from zero to 60 in the polls, if you will, will help those resources a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Rick Santorum used to be an afterthought in this campaign, Drew. Not anymore.

GRIFFIN: Paul, we look forward to your reporting all day tomorrow and into the night as we look at the first votes in this long race yet to come.

The Iowa caucuses start tomorrow night. Of course, CNN is the place to be on any election night, specifically tomorrow, as we begin getting results. "America's Choice 2012," special live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Right now, though, we're going to keep the news flowing with Brooke Baldwin in the NEWSROOM -- Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Drew, thank you.