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Romney's Path to Nomination?; Michele Bachmann Pulls Out of Race; Perry Reassesses Campaign, Elects To Stay In; The Republican Primary Battlefield Shifts To New Hampshire, South Carolina
Aired January 04, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon.
The Republican choice for president in 2008 makes his own choice for 2012. The battlefield shifts to primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina. And count Michele Bachmann out of both. It's time to play "Reporter Roulette."
David Mattingly in South Carolina first.
David, I will show our viewers the map. We had the Iowa caucuses last night. New Hampshire in just six days, and then South Carolina on the 21st. So there's a chance -- and let's be clear -- a chance that Mitt Romney could sweep all three and potentially sew up the Republican nomination by the end of the month.
That said, though, South Carolina's Deep South and an uphill battle for Romney. So, David, do his people there believe, really believe that he can win?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's put it this way.
It comes down to what voters are going to want. I spoke to the head of the Republican Party here in South Carolina earlier today and he said that the voters here are very energized. They are very anxious to see someone beat President Obama in November.
Well, Mitt Romney has been trying to position himself early on as the candidate who has the best chance of doing that. So by doing that here in South Carolina, he has a good chance to find a very large and welcoming electorate that he could be able to reach.
But at the same time, we're also told that it's going to be whoever works the hardest. We're going to have to see people on the ground here. There have been some grumbling in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses that there hasn't been as many candidates visiting South Carolina as there were before four years ago.
They were a little concerned about the amount of attention that they might be getting. And here in South Carolina, everything about the primary is about being first, the first voice in a conservative Southern state. And this will be a conservative showdown, no doubt.
And they are very careful to tell everyone historically speaking when you look at how long this primary has been going, every person who has won here has gone on to win the nomination.
LEMON: They are very proud of that. Romney won the endorsement of Governor Nikki Haley. Will that help him out among the state's most conservative voters? Because Haley, after all, got elected with support from the Tea Party.
MATTINGLY: That's right.
She is having some problems right now, the governor here having some popularity problems because of controversies erupting from handling a project involving state ports. But beyond that, every single candidate was looking for her endorsement. She's a very well- known political figure. And she's still popular among Republican voters. So that is going to help Romney as they go down the road here the next couple of weeks.
LEMON: All right, David Mattingly, thanks very much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," Dana Bash in Des Moines, Iowa. Just hours ago, Michele Bachmann pulled out of the race. Back in August she was riding high after winning the Ames straw poll in Iowa.
What happened between now and then, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She failed to catch fire in this state, this critical state for her personally because she was born here and politically because she had to do well here. For some candidates, like Mitt Romney, obviously, who has kind of been the leader of the pack all the way, he didn't necessarily need to.
For her, there was no question. She knew that. She watched the polls come in last night. She obviously knew beforehand that she was not going to do that well, but she really, really finished a very disappointing sixth place, which is effectively last here.
We're told that she got together with her campaign and her family last night and this and decided that this is yet. Obviously, the thing that every candidate needs to continue on is money, and she didn't have any and she didn't have enough to continue on.
She had a schedule, plan today in the state where David Mattingly is, in South Carolina, which, of course, would be another state where she could potentially do well with her social conservative and economic conservative roots and platforms but it just didn't happen. She had to cancel that and she decided that, as she said today, in a very emotional speech, that she just -- it's time for her to step aside because she just could not get the attention of voters here in Iowa.
LEMON: Dana Bash, thank you very much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," Jim Acosta on the phone from New Hampshire.
Jim, Romney made an endorsement for president back in 2008. Now the favor's returned, isn't it?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.
John McCain, who was a bitter rival of Mitt Romney back in '08, you know, these two really went at it up in this state and it was John McCain who won the New Hampshire primary essentially knocking Mitt Romney out of this race back four years ago. And so it's very interesting to see John McCain come out and endorse Mitt Romney earlier today.
It was kind of funny because they were having a good time with that squeaker of a victory that Mitt Romney got out in Iowa last night. At one point, John McCain said, don't forget to congratulate Mitt Romney on that landslide victory that he had up in Iowa and everybody sort of got a good chuckle with that. And Mitt Romney was also enjoying it too.
Listen to how Mitt Romney described it earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My goodness. What a squeaker. But it sure is nice to have a win. I will tell you. And the question that I have for you is, can we do better here in New Hampshire?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Yes. Yes.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Let's see if I can get that mike going again. Let's see. Do you think we can get more than an eight-vote margin here in New Hampshire? I'm going to try. Think we can get there? I sure hope so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Today you heard Mitt Romney refer to that victory, that eight-vote victory in Iowa as a squeaker and it certainly was.
But Mitt Romney will have to do better than that here in New Hampshire and he's going to have a lot of pressure on him. The other rivals in this race are going after him, a newly, emboldened, stronger Rick Santorum who nearly stole that caucus victory from Mitt Romney last night in the wee hours of the morning.
He is coming after Mitt Romney. He described the endorsement of John McCain for Mitt Romney as essentially a moderate match made in heaven. Santorum sort of blew that off. And then Newt Gingrich was really going after Mitt Romney earlier today. He was holding an event up in New Hampshire taking questions from reporters.
And one reporter noted that Newt Gingrich in his comments last night did not congratulate Mitt Romney. He only congratulated Rick Santorum. The reporter asked Gingrich what that was all about and Gingrich responded, I suppose that's a rhetorical question and then he proceeded to lay into Romney and question whether or not he's a true candidate for conservative voters.
So it's going to get nasty up here in New Hampshire. It might not be the smooth sailing that Mitt Romney expected up here, Don.
LEMON: And as you're speaking, we see Mitt Romney -- excuse me -- we see Newt Gingrich and his wife there speaking live here on CNN. So thank you, Jim Acosta. Thanks to all of our reporters. That is "Reporter Roulette" for today.
Still ahead, it sure sounded like Rick Perry would drop out like Bachmann, but something changed overnight, because he's moving forward and he's putting all of his focus on one place.
Plus, a murder mystery on a queen's private estate. We're now hearing that the body found is that of a young woman, possibly as young as 15.
Also:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fixed her hair up, I curled it up, put a little ribbon in it. And then I sent her to school and I told her I loved her. And she said, I love you, mommy. I will see you later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hours later, her daughter died of a peanut allergy. But could the school have done more to save this little girl? We're on the case.
And President Obama hiring a new employee without the approval of Congress. One Republican calls it an unprecedented power grab. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
LEMON: Speaking of new hires, President Barack Obama making a big one today and in the process sidestepping Congress. And Republicans are furious about it.
I want to go now to our Athena Jones. She is live for us at the White House.
Hello, Athena.
The president has named Richard Cordray the first director of the watchdog bureau for consumers. And before we get to the controversy, tell us more. Who exactly is this guy?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was the state attorney general in Ohio. He was also that state's treasurer. It's not surprising that the president should be making this announcement today in Cleveland just a couple of hours ago.
Also, of course, Ohio is an important swing state coming up in the next election. So there's no surprise there. The president nominated Cordray way back in July, calling him a strong advocate for consumers. Let's listen a little bit of what he had to say about Cordray today at that announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His job will be to protect families like yours from the abuses of the financial industry. His job will be to make sure that you have got all of the information that you need to make important financial decisions. Right away, he will start working to make sure millions of Americans are treated fairly by mortgage brokers and payday lenders and debt collectors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now, this recess appointment was necessary because back in December Republicans in the state blocked Cordray's nomination.
They had been promising for months to block the nomination of any director for this bureau until they saw some structural changes. They believed that this Financial Protection Bureau is too powerful and not accountable enough to the people, Don.
LEMON: So House Speaker John Boehner, Athena, calls this an unprecedented power grab. What is the fallout?
JONES: Well, that's right. The Republicans are very, very angry about this. You heard Boehner call this a power grab. He also said that the president is trampling on the separation of powers.
He went as far to say that the courts would find this appointment illegitimate. You also heard from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said that the president had arrogantly circumvented the American people.
A lot of strongly worded statements from Republicans. On the White House side, you had Jay Carney telling the press in the gaggle headed into Ohio that the president was within his power to do this, past presidents have done these recess appointments, and they have even used it lot more than this president has, and that they also believe that the Senate has been in recess effectively for weeks and these pro forma sessions where they gather every few days, and gavel in and gavel out in just a matter of minutes, and don't really conduct any Senate business, that those are not counting as being in session. They are just gimmicks.
The bottom line is that neither side likes this unless they are the ones in power. What it will mean ultimately, of course, we don't know. But we can expect that it will be more of the same. The president and Republicans don't have this long history of being buddy- buddy and working well together. We can probably expect this to be more of the same there, Don.
LEMON: You just hit the nail on the head. Neither side likes it unless they are the one in power and the one who proposed it. That's how it works.
JONES: Exactly.
LEMON: Athena, thank you. Happy new year. Good to see you. Thank you.
Listen to this. Newt Gingrich congratulated Rick Santorum on his strong performance last night. You think he also called Mitt Romney? Not so much. Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Romney ran a relentless negative campaign of falsehoods, which earned one of his ads four Pinocchios from "The Washington Post."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Obviously there is some bad blood between these two guys. And it's about to get really interesting as they cross paths in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Next up, our John King joins me live. Find out what each candidate has to do in these two states in moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's go now to New Hampshire and South Carolina, the next two face-offs for Republican presidential candidates. We can't predict what will happen, but we can rely on the history to give us a clue about it.
And so cue John King and he never leaves without his magic wall to tell us what past voting tells us.
John, let's focus on the top two from Iowa, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum.
How do they stand in New Hampshire?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's take it from Iowa to New Hampshire.
This is last night, Don. The purple is Rick Santorum. The darker red is Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney ekes it out, eight votes. Wow. Right? How close can you get?
I just want to take you back in time real quickly before we move on. Remember the purple, this is four years ago when Mike Huckabee won. Out here in the middle of the state, smaller rural communities, much like Rick Santorum. Let's go over to New Hampshire. We come over here. We go from the middle of the country to New Hampshire. This is still blank because that's next Tuesday night.
We will fill that in. Let's go back in time just to remind you. That's the Democratic race. Let's go to the Republican race. Remember, Mike Huckabee was orange in Iowa four years ago. Not much orange in New Hampshire. Why?
Not a lot of evangelical conservative voters. Rick Santorum's challenge, if he's going to take that Iowa win and get big mo' in New Hampshire, maybe a win. That would be a huge upset. But a surprise strong showing in New Hampshire, what Santorum needs this week, he has to expand to the economy, Don.
Look for places like this. Rick Santorum is from the Pittsburgh area. He talks blue-collar a lot, gritty conservative Republicans. Independents can vote in the New Hampshire primary. Even Democrats can vote because there's no Democratic contest this year. Watch how Santorum does in Manchester, does in Nashua. You have some blue- collar voters down that way. That is his big chance.
But this is a state at the moment, emphasizing at the moment, that's wired for Romney.
LEMON: While you have it up there, how did Romney fare? Can you drill down more on Romney in New Hampshire in 2008?
KING: Sure. Come right over here and look at the numbers. John McCain won the state with 37 percent. Mitt Romney had 32 percent. This is the big dynamic. Remember, Romney was leading in New Hampshire going into the Iowa caucuses. He spent $10 million four years ago in Iowa, Governor Romney did.
Then Mike Huckabee stunned him in Iowa. It was the stunning defeat of Romney that caused the floor to fall out a bit in New Hampshire, allowed the big McCain comeback, 37 percent to 32 percent. It's a little hard to tell. If you look in on the map here, you have got to look real close. The lighter red is John McCain. The darker red, you see right there, these are the counties that Mitt Romney, got to turn the Telestrator off, come in -- Mitt Romney 32 percent.
He only won a few counties, but remember he was the former Massachusetts governor. He owns a vacation home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. John McCain is now on team Romney, just endorsed him today. You have to say Romney is the overwhelming favorite in New Hampshire, but it's been a volatile year, Don. That's why we're going to watch this week.
LEMON: I have been watching you, you have been talking to that wall. When the wall starts to talk back to you, then we're going to have...
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Oh, she talks back.
LEMON: She does?
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Let's move forward to South Carolina 2012. If you want to give us the overall, but then also talk about Romney. How did he do in South Carolina in 2008?
KING: Again, then let's go to the numbers for Romney first. South Carolina was another big disappointment for Mitt Romney. Some say Christian evangelicals took it out on him that he was a Mormon in South Carolina.
Remember, he lost had Iowa, lost New Hampshire. There was also a momentum factor in 2008. South Carolina was really the end of the line. He was gone from the race shortly after this, only 15 percent. But you raise a very interesting question now in this race.
LEMON: Right.
KING: McCain eked it out in South Carolina, look at this, 33 percent to Mike Huckabee at 30 percent. Remember this. Rick Perry says he's going to stay in. Bachmann's out. But you're going to have in South Carolina Romney, most likely Santorum, Gingrich, and Perry.
Is Rick Perry the Fred Thompson of this cycle? Can he win? This is Perry's last stand. He wants to win South Carolina. But if he doesn't win, does he end up being this candidate? Take this 16 percent. Most people believe that the bulk of this had Fred Thompson dropped out would have gone to Mike Huckabee.
Here's Mike Huckabee. This is the Bible Belt area, Christian conservatives in South Carolina. I'm going to turn this off. Huckabee wins them all. But if you go deep into these counties, this is where Fred Thompson did his best, 20 percent here, 22 percent here, 20 percent here, 12 percent here. And if you go all the way over here in the top corner, you see where Fred Thompson did very well out over here, 20 percent again, 21 percent, 17 percent, 14 percent. Taking votes in the Christian Bible Belt from Mike Huckabee cost Mike Huckabee.
If Mike Huckabee won South Carolina in 2008, most likely John McCain would not have been your nominee. Watch how many candidates does Mitt Romney have to his right when we get to South Carolina. That could decide the race.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, John.
We're just hearing that the Gingrich town hall is wrapping up right now and we have been showing live pictures of that, and as he's talking there.
John, when you look at this election, you look at Gingrich, you look at Santorum, what just happened, Bachmann, all of these guys, we can look at history and it shows us something. But this election really is a bit different, especially with the Tea Party influence and with the evangelical influence and everything else that we have had going on in politics, the economy, jobs, what have you.
KING: No question about that.
The Republican Party is searching for a new leader. It hasn't a president since George W. Bush left office. John McCain got beat pretty badly in the last presidential election. The Republican Party is trying to figure out not just who do we want, but who do we want to be? There's the mainline pragmatic conservative wing, the establishment conservative wing of the Republican Party. That's Romney's hope.
We know the evangelicals here in South Carolina, we saw them last night in Iowa. But you make an interesting point. The Tea Party is the new element, very, very powerful and influential in 2010, not so much last night in Iowa. There's a test for the Tea Party going forward in New Hampshire and in South Carolina.
Will they be as important to the Republican Party this cycle as they were just two years ago, when they were the big energy in the party? Last night, Don, there's not much evidence of that. Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, didn't do so well. Rick Perry, a Tea Party favorite, didn't do so well. Romney wins. Santorum voted for earmarks, voted for the prescription drug benefit, the Medicare drug prescription benefit. Can't say he's a Tea Party favorite either. We will see in the next two contests whether the Tea Party reasserts itself.
LEMON: Good stuff from the magic wall and, oh, yes, John King as well.
John King, thank you very much.
Listen, don't forget to catch "JOHN KING, USA" 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Rick Santorum is the guest tonight. You want to watch that.
And I want you to check out Rick Perry last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have decided to turn to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So it doesn't -- it sure sounds like the Texas governor is dropping out, right? It sounds like it to me. Take a look at Perry today. He's apparently living to fight another day. But what's behind the strategy? You're about to hear him from someone who knows him better than most people. Don't miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. If you thought Rick Perry was out of the race, you better think again.
After finishing fifth in Iowa and returning home to Texas and after telling his staff in South Carolina to stand down and await new orders, Perry put out this tweet today. He said, "Here we come, South Carolina."
I want you to take a look at the photo. See that right there in the middle of your screen? Rick Perry looking fit, energetic, different Rick Perry than the one we saw last night, late last night after his disappointing showing in Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: I have decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Joining us now from Manchester, New Hampshire, our guys for all things, Rick Perry. Of course, it's Wayne Slater of "The Dallas Morning News."
I have got to ask you. Thank you for joining us.
I have got to ask you, does Perry still think he's viable, or is he soldiering on to South Carolina for a more graceful option than bowing out now? Is he trying to save face, in a way?
WAYNE SLATER, DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Well, look, they always think that they are still viable until they are not. I think there's a part that he does think he's still viable, that things could happen. You just never know in politics.
On the other hand, he does want to save face. South Carolina is a southern state. He's a Southern governor. He thinks he can do fairly well there. We'll see. He has a message that he will do pretty well.
His people on the inside believe that Rick Santorum will fade and that Perry will ultimately or could be in a position to accumulate those voters who will not be for Mitt Romney. But fundamentally, what happened last night was and you had it exactly right, if you saw him last night, he was beat.
LEMON: Yes.
SLATER: He said he felt like it was over. He went in and our Christy Huffy (ph) talked to Griffin Perry, the son of Rick Perry, and Griffin this morning said, you know what? He went in, he talked to mom and talked to his kids, Griffin and Sydney, he went out for a run, cleared his head and said, you know what? I'm going to do this. And there were members of his staff in Austin that were surprised by that. They thought it was over. It ain't quite over yet.
LEMON: What -- he says he's going to reassess his campaign and then he does this. It's you know, when Herman Cain says I'm suspending my campaign. When Michele Bachmann says I'm suspending my campaign, when he says I'm reassessing, for him -- for Rick Perry, I guess it means a different thing.
I want to -- you mentioned this. You talked it about this in your column. The impression that he's left on voters so far is that, as they say in Texas, he's all hat and no cattle. How can he change that now this late in the game? What's the plan, if any?
SLATER: Very, very hard. I mean, the column I wrote today is basically that Rick Perry failed to learn the lesson of 20 years ago when a Republican was on the top of the ticket on Rick Perry's first race when Perry was running for agricultural commissioner, he was a cowboy, outspoken and all the good things that are true to be in a cowboy, independent, self reliant, full of commonsense.
Once you begin to stumble and voters get to see you, all they see, or the bad aspects associated with the cowboy, swaggering boot and mouth disease, it is going to be very, very difficult. And I think there are some analysts who say it's going to be virtually impossible.
When I travel and talk to voters in New Hampshire -- I mean, in Iowa, I would basically get to Rick Perry and it was as if they dismissed him as a great guy, good resume, but just simply isn't up to the job.
LEMON: Well, Wayne, it's a larger than life image, sort of this John Wayne kind of image, and if it doesn't work for you, as you say in your column, it's tough to lose that image or to turn the ship around, so to speak.
He's definitely leading the field in YouTube moments. This one is from November 9th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the -- what's the third one there? Let's see.
JOHN HARWOOD, CNBC: You can't name the third one?
PERRY: The third agency of government I would do away with, the Education, the Commerce and -- let's see, I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's hard to watch.
SLATER: Painful. Painful.
LEMON: And the people in Texas, what's their assessment of this performance on a national stage?
SLATER: Well, you know, there are Rick Perry supporters in Austin and in Texas and certainly feel very badly about how things are going. They support him. I sense when I talked to a number of Texans that I don't typically want to talk about it publicly, especially if they are Republican or conservative, moderate, independents, they are not happy with Rick Perry's performance because it seems to have told the rest of the country, offer this stereotype of, again, the boot in the mouth disease, these Texans aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, has not been the best image that we want for our state.
That may be Perry's contribution if he ultimately doesn't give the nomination that he will go down with that clip you just saw with the historic clips of American 20th century and 21st century politics, you know, I was brainwashed or I didn't have sex with that woman and oops.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Wayne Slater of the "Dallas Morning News" speaking to us from Manchester, New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fixed her hair, I curled it up, put a little ribbon on it, and I sent her to school and told her I love her and she said, I love you, mommy, I'll see you later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is an emotional story. It's raising eyebrows. A first grader dies of a peanut allergy at school. Now, her mom wants some answers. Sunny Hostin is on the case. She's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A court hearing was very long in security today in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Thirty sheriff's deputies were on duty as a baby sitter accused of a gruesome murder of a 9-year-old girl appeared in court for the first time since his arrest. Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Plumadore is accused of hitting Aliahna Lemmon in the head with a brick and then dismembering her and keeping parts of her body in his freezer. Jeez.
Sunny Hostin on the case.
Thirty sheriff deputies sound extraordinary, Sunny. Have there been threats against the 39-year-old Plumadore?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Well, we are hearing, Don, certainly that there have been some threats. But let's face it, in a case like this with this sort of depravity and the age of the victim, a 9-year-old girl, there's no question that they are going to have to take extra precaution to ensure not only his safety but the safety of others around him.
LEMON: Yes. And I said at the top that it was a short hearing today. What happened?
HOSTIN: He pled not guilty to the charges. He has been charged with murder. He's been charged also with abuse of a corpse and removing a dead body from a grave.
He also is facing perhaps the death penalty, Don. That decision has not been made, but in Indiana, he's looking at 45 to 65 years in prison just on the murder charge alone. So, it was a very quick hearing today but a very important one.
My understanding is that in Indiana, which is where this took place, magistrates often accept a defendant's plea of not guilty even without an attorney present. So while he did not have an attorney present, my understanding is that a public defender will be appointed to him and his next court is scheduled for January 18th.
LEMON: You're familiar with crimes against children, you've prosecuted them. You know, how does this stack up? I mean, it's just gruesome.
HOSTIN: Well, it is certainly gruesome and, again, so depraved and when you think about the age of this child, 9 years old, and the fact that he was a caretaker and a trusted family member taking care of these children when their mother was ill. It really is, I think, at the top of the scale.
But any crime against a child should be at the top of our societal scale.
LEMON: Yes, the most vulnerable in the society.
Another case, this one is very emotional. A Virginia mother, Sunny, is asking very tough questions after the death of her 7-year- old daughter during school. First grader Ammaria Johnson died after having an allergic reaction to product containing peanuts.
Laura Pendleton says that the school knew her daughter was allergic to peanuts. She has two questions. How did her daughter get the product? And why didn't anybody help her right away?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA PENDLETON, MOTHER: I've heard two different stories. One is that it was unsupervised and a kid gave it to her, and the other was that someone made her eat it. She has allergy action plan at the school. If she breaks out in hives, if she comes in contact with something she's allergic to, the first thing you do is give her Benadryl. They didn't give her anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So that's the mom. What's the school saying?
HOSTIN: You know, we did reach out to the school for comment. We did receive a comment from the school. And they indicate that they are certainly aware of the need for an action plan. Their hearts go out to this family and the bottom line is, the investigation is ongoing as to how something like this could happen.
LEMON: They said they are aware --
HOSTIN: The school does have an action plan.
LEMON: They said that they are aware for an action plan, but what is the school's responsibility regarding children with serious allergies like this? That little girl is not the only one in America, obviously?
HOSTIN: That's right. I mean, it's a serious responsibility that these schools have. Interestingly enough, the Chesterfield County public schools and the Department of Health there have really -- there's a document that discussing managing severe allergies. It's extremely extensive. It discusses all of the roles that the administrators have, that the teachers have, that the parents have, that the students have. It's actually an excellent plan and I've reviewed it.
So I am surprised that something like this would happen. It is clear, Don, that someone dropped the ball here.
LEMON: Obviously. Thank you, Sunny Hostin. We appreciate it as always.
Now, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We lost the little boy. He was our fourth child. Gabriel was born early in the morning, at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, lived a couple of hours. And when the morning came, we brought him home to bury him. He was buried --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is a side of Rick Santorum that you may not know. Up next, a candidate, emotional revelations about the personal of the surging Republican from Pennsylvania.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: For all of the obstacles presidential candidate Rick Santorum has faced politically, it pales in comparison to what he's overcome personally. Santorum told CNN about the tragedies and challenges he has experienced as a father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANTORUM: Karen and I have been married 21 years. We have had eight children. Seven of whom still survive. We lost a little boy. He was our fourth child.
Gabriel was born early in the morning, at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, lived a couple of hours. And when the morning came, we brought him home to bury him. He was buried that next day.
You know, our kids were very young when Gabriel was born. I think our oldest was 5. And so, most of the kids really don't remember Gabriel very much.
One of the things that we thought was really important was for them to see their brother, to know that he existed, to know that his life had meaning, that there is a loss, and that, you know, that every life is precious.
Then we have a little 3-year-old little girl who's our special child. She was born with a genetic disorder and is -- was told -- we were told that she would not live a few days and she is now 3 1/2 years old and is just a miracle every day and really in many respects the center of life.
My little girl Isabella, 3 years old, had some surgery today. She's doing fine, but I just want to send to her a little I love you and I will take the red eye home to be with you tomorrow and make sure that you're feeling fine.
She has a disorder called Trisomy 18, which we were told is incompatible with life. Well, we're showing that that's not only not true, but it is really the center of our life. Not every life, you know, is meant to accomplish great things in terms of economics, in terms of utility that some would see to our society. But the utility of these children and showing the dignity of human life and the pure love that they emit and how they really at least I always say that Bella has gentled by condition, although I know some people say, you know, Santorum is so intense. You should have seen me before she was born.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Rick Santorum on the personal tragedies he's faced as a father.
If you were watching election coverage last night, you may have seen, you may not have seen, I don't know -- a fascinating light show, a meteor shower moving 90,000 miles an hour. We've got the picture next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Did you see it? I'm sure a lot of you did. I'm talking about the Quadrantid meteor shower that hit the skies over the East Coast last night, moving at a whopping, get this -- 90,000 miles per hour. That's according to NASA.
People along the East Coast were able to enjoy the spectacular sky show. It was brief, lasting just a few hours around 3:00 this morning. Quadrantid, well, they were first observed in 1825. It was certainly, I don't know if it was a meteor shower, but a light show.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I don't even know what that is.
LEMON: Well, I was going to say, there was a show last night in Iowa. My gosh. It was fireworks. Fireworks today.
So, you're just a few moments away, but you have a very special guest. Who do you have today?
BLITZER: Well, we got several good guests. Gene Sperling, the president's top economic adviser is going to be joining us. You know, the president is being hammered by these Republican candidates. They disagree amongst themselves, the various Republicans, but they all agree on one thing: they don't like President Obama. They're going after him on issue after issue, economic issue, making all sorts of accusations.
I thought it must be a good idea, let's let the White House, one of the president's closest advisors, respond to some of these accusations.
And there's a big uproar over this recess appointment that the president announced today as well to have the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
LEMON: I was going to ask you about that. But as you were talking, on the corner on my eye, I know she's going to be on your show. And that's Gloria Borger.
BLITZER: Yes, she is.
LEMON: Did she run five miles with you this morning?
BLITZER: No, no. She slept, I'm sure. I ran five miles this morning.
LEMON: Every morning.
BLITZER: I'm sure she did not have time. See, we work -- we got off the air at 3:31 a.m., and, you know, that's a long, long night.
LEMON: It is a long night. And, you know, when you're on the air, you've got -- 3:00. It's like 5:00 for most people. You still have the adrenaline going.
Are you able to get to bed?
BLITZER: I was pretty exhausted. I got into bed and I fell asleep.
LEMON: Yes. We were being back in Iowa, months ago at the hotel and everyone's like Wolf has been working all day. You remember the guys at the front desk made the cookies and milk for you.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes, it was nice. Did you get your cookies and milk last night?
BLITZER: I didn't because, you know, I thought I would go over here to the CNN all night diner that we have over here. They had milk, but it was only the whole milk. I just had the skim milk.
So, I wasn't going to get the whole milk. It was open. They had cookies. I don't want the cookies without the skim milk.
LEMON: The healthy Blitzer. I'm going to hire you as my trainer now.
Thank you, Wolf Blitzer. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
BLITZER: I'm running to the CNN election center right now.
LEMON: All right. Up the stairs. Thank you, Wolf.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Ready, Wolf? Are you ready?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Ready.
BLITZER: I'm watching. Yes.
BORGER: Yes, very good.
BURNETT: Third time is a charm.
BLITZER: Excellent flicking going on over there.
BORGER: Screens fall. It was not Erin.
BURNETT: Not operator error. All right. Anderson?
BLITZER: All right. Let's go to Anderson. Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Don't ask me to flick anything.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Have we all just given up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: More Wolf Blitzer and the gang there as the country waited for the final votes to be tabulated, things got a bit crazy in the CNN studio. I think you can call it being punch drunk and up a little long. You'll see all the best moments from last night's coverage, including how Barry White helped launch CNN after dark.
You've got to see this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hours of anchoring election coverage, no easy task, especially if it comes down to eight votes. Well, that meant a late night for us here at CNN, from a flickering failure to the creation of a new, late night show. Our election team had some laughs last night and if you went to bed early, here are some of the lighter moments of our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORGER: Would that help Republicans in a general election? They want to stick to the economy.
BURNETT: All right. And, Wolf, before I send it back to you and Anderson, we will do a little reverse flick.
BLITZER: OK. Let's see that.
BORGER: Ooh.
BURNETT: Oh, no.
BORGER: Or maybe not. Are you kidding?
BURNETT: Do my reverse flick and fail? No, no.
BORGER: One more try.
BLITZER: The back hand.
BURNETT: This is -- this is. OK. Ready, Wolf? Are ready?
BORGER: Ready.
BLITZER: I'm watching. Yes.
BORGER: Yes, very good.
BURNETT: Third time is a charm.
BLITZER: Third time is a charm. Excellent flicking going on over there.
BORGER: Screen's fault because it is not Erin.
BURNETT: Yes, yes. Not operator error. All right. Anderson?
BLITZER: All right. Let's go to Anderson. Ali?
VELSHI: Don't ask me to flick anything.
COOPER: Have we all just given up?
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: It's like 1:30, and everyone was like -- can you flick it?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I will tell you, it's evident from the social media screen here that people are going to sleep.
COOPER: The social media screen, again with the social media screen. My Lord.
VELSHI: This is the future, Anderson.
COOPER: This is the third hit. I still don't understand what the hell this thing shows.
VELSHI: I'm going to tell you what it is. I'm going to tell you what it is. Every one of these dots -- Roland, stop laughing. Every one of these dots corresponds to a candidate. Right?
These pink ones, I've got to tell with the candidate who's got pink. Ron Paul is all over the map, right? People are tweeting from each place.
COOPER: We know a lot of people tweet in America.
VELSHI: Let me show you something. Stop touching the screen. In one hour, five and a half thousand people are tweeted -- everybody, put your cell phones off and stop talking.
In social media world, Ron Paul is leading.
COOPER: You're doing a thankless job, Ali, and I appreciate it.
VELSHI: It's very clear.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: We're trying to deal. We're going to talk to her analyst, to Ari Fleischer and Dana Loesch, Roland Martin and James Carville coming up. Be right back.
BLITZER: I can only say three letters. OMG. Look at this, look what's going on. One vote. One vote right now separating Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum -- Mitt Romney has taken the lead with 99 percent of the precincts reporting. Anderson, talk to your friends.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Sorry, what's going on?
BLITZER: Go ahead. They look like they want to say something.
COOPER: I was trying to log in to Twitter.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Edith and Carolyn, the two women, Carolyn Tallett and Edith Pfieffer, who helped us solve this mystery on TV are trending on Twitter and worldwide. Edith, Carolyn and Edith and Carolyn, and guess what else is trending?
COOPER: What?
VELSHI: Hashtag "CNN after dark." I'm not making this up. CNN after dark is trending.
COOPER: Bom chicka bowbow.
VELSHI: There you go. Not that kind of CNN after dark
BLITZER: We're going to continue this tradition with our brand new nightly show after each of these contests. Tell our viewers a little l bit about it.
COOPER: That's right, welcome, baby. It's CNN after dark.
BLITZER: We have any graphics for that?
COOPER: Where's the music?
BLITZER: Here we go.
COOPER: No, no, that's not CNN after dark. It's got to be more of like -- a little Barry White.
Our coverage continues, we're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was not coffee in those red cups, let me tell you. And, by the way, Anderson, it's "brown chicken brown cow."
Alright. Wolf Blitzer, take it away.
