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Santorum Won Iowa; Newt Gingrich Wanted Open Marriage; Jobless Claims Lowest In Four Years; President Obama Unveils Tourism Plan; Perry Drops Out, Endorses Gingrich; Bizarre Hollywood Mystery; Newt Gingrich Rises in S.C. Polls; What Ron Paul Needs to Stay in Race

Aired January 19, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone, I'm Randy Kaye. It's 1:00, we've got a busy hour ahead.

Two short days before the make or break South Carolina Primary. One GOP hopeful is out, another is on a role. Just about two hours ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who dominated the field oh so briefly last summer, called it a race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning. I have come to the conclusion that there is no more viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign. Therefore, today, I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Our latest polls shows Gingrich gaining on Mitt Romney among likely South Carolina voters and Perry stuck in fifth with single digits. Santorum's running third in South Carolina, but today he's officially the winner of the Iowa caucuses. Sixteen days ago, you'll recall Romney was initially on top by eight votes, but the final results show Santorum won, actually, by 34. Still, results from eight precincts are missing, so it's basically a toss-up.

I want to toss it now to (INAUDIBLE.) Four Republican candidates will meet tonight in a CNN debate and where my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, has just sat down with Rick Santorum. Hi there, Wolf. So, tell me this, does Santorum think that the flip-flop in Iowa changes anything for him?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's encouraged by it. He's obviously frustrated that he couldn't declare that night two week ago that he was the winner of the Iowa caucuses. He thinks he would have gotten some more momentum going into New Hampshire and now here to South Carolina. But he is happy. He's very pleased. He says, look, he won -- he won one of these contests, something that Newt Gingrich has not done. He says he did better than Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire as well. So, he's encouraged and he says he's starting to buy ads in Florida right now. He's going out to Florida he says, irrespective of how he does in South Carolina on Saturday. But let me play for you a little clip, Randi, and for our viewers. When I asked him to react to the news that he actually has now been declared the winner in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God, I don't blame Iowa. I mean, they -- you know, they had to go through the process that -- actually, if you think about it, it moved from eight votes to 34, usually an election, that kind of change is insignificant. So, I don't -- the state of Iowa did -- the Republican party of Iowa did a good job, very happy that they were -- they got 99.9 percent of the polling places in and we feel very, very good that we not only won but we pulled off a huge upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And he's also encouraged, Randi, by these endorsements that he's been getting over the weekend from some evangelical leaders. He also thinks that despite the fact that Rick Perry dropped out and endorsed Newt Gingrich -- I think he thinks that some of the Rick Perry supporters, and there weren't a whole lot of them, because he was only polling in the mid -- single digits here in South Carolina.

Some of them will go to him as opposed to Newt Gingrich. He doesn't think presumably that a lot of them will go to Mitt Romney. This race, bottom line -- Randi, this race here in South Carolina is really heating up. Four candidates left. Let's not forget Ron Paul. It's going to be a lively debate tonight and it's going to be a fascinating primary on Saturday.

KAYE: Yes. Wolf, let's talk about Rick Perry and his endorsement of Newt Gingrich. How much do you think that is worth to Gingrich?

BLITZER: I think it's going to help Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich not only wanted Rick Perry to drop out, he'd like Rick Santorum to drop out. And when I asked Rick Santorum about that, he just thought that was the height of arrogance and the part of Newt Gingrich.

He got visibly angry at even -- that Newt Gingrich to even raise that possibility given the fact that he did win in Iowa, did better than Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire. But I think it'll help -- it'll help -- wind up helping Newt Gingrich a bit if it's a really close race and the polls show it is tightening over these past few days. If it's close between Gingrich and Romney as the polls seem to suggest, whatever amount of support that Rick Perry is dropping out will throw to Newt Gingrich, would presumably help. So, I think it could help him marginally if it's a very close contest and all of the indications are that it will be.

KAYE: Yes. And nothing like having a candidate drop out just hours before the CNN debate. I understand some changes are being made there on the stage in South Carolina. And in fact, we have a picture there. Wolf, I'm sure you can see it there, one podium down.

BLITZER: Yes, four podiums. And now there are four, used to be six. Huntsman dropped out earlier in the week. Michelle Bachmann -- I remember moderating two of these Republican debates, one in Tampa, one in Washington. There were eight candidates and now there are four. We'll see what happens in the coming days.

KAYE: All right. Wolf Blitzer there for us there in South Carolina. Wolf, thank you. And be sure to catch Wolf's full interview with Rick Santorum. You can watch it today out in The Situation Room 4:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

And be sure to watch tonight as the GOP contenders face off for what could be the final debate. Join John King and Wolf for the southern Republican debate right here on CNN at tonight, that's a 8:00 Eastern.

Just two days before the South Carolina primary, a potentially damaging interview with Newt Gingrich's second wife. It's scheduled to air on ABC tonight. In an excerpt, Marianne Gingrich tells ABC's Brian Ross that her former husband told her he wanted an open marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIANNE GINGRICH: I said to him, Newt, we've been married a long time. And he said, yes, but you want me all to yourself. Callista doesn't care what I do.

BRIAN ROSS, ABC HOST, "MORNING MAJORITY": What was he saying to you do you think?

MARIANNE GINGRICH: He -- well, he was asking to have an open marriage and I refused.

ROSS: He wanted an open marriage?

MARIANNE GINGRICH: Yes, that I accept the fact that he has somebody else in his life.

ROSS: And you said?

MARIANNE GINGRICH: No. No. That is not a marriage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Marianne Gingrich was referring to Gingrich's current wife, Callista. Gingrich isn't commenting on the interview, but his campaign released a memo to ABC News from his two daughters from the first marriage. Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman say their father isn't talking about the past but about who can defeat President Obama.

More evidence the job market is getting stronger. The number of people seeking first-time jobless benefits fell sharply last week, the lowest level in nearly four years. According to the labor department, 352,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits. That's the lowest number since April 2008. Weekly jobless claims below 400,000 are usually taken as an indication that hiring is strong enough to push down the jobless rate. If you're watching us from Disney World right now, well you're very much aware of President Obama's whereabouts. Because moments ago in the Magic Kingdom, he unveils his plan to boost tourism in to U.S. In part, by making it easier for people in China, Brazil, and elsewhere to come here. Mr. Obama says the plan could create more than a million jobs over the next decade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So today, I directed my administration to send me a new national tourism strategy focused on creating jobs. And some of America's most successful business leaders, some who are here today, have signed up to help. We're going to see how we can make it easier for foreign tourists to find basic information about visiting America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: On the surface, this wasn't a stump speech, but it comes just before CNN's presidential debate tonight. And as the candidates gear up to blanket Florida with anti-Obama ads ahead of the state's primary at the end of the month.

Italian officials have identified eight of the 11 people killed when a cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy. These are live pictures of that ship. Twenty-one people still missing but officials aren't holding out much hope of finding them alive because of the cold temperatures and the chilly water. Officials may soon change the operation from rescue to recovery which will allow salvage teams to start pumping fuel out of the ship in a bid to prevent an environmental disaster. A prosecutor says authorities are carrying toxicology tests on the captain who is facing possible manslaughter and abandoning ship charges.

Well, it almost feels like January 3rd all over again, declaring a winner in the Iowa caucus. Except today, there's a new winner, Rick Santorum. So, how did everyone get it wrong? We get answers from a man who knows, the chairman of Iowa's Republican party. That interview is next.

But, first, he was paralyzed in a snowmobile accident and told he would never walk again, but Grant Korgan did not let that prognosis bring him down. Instead, it inspired him to do more. He just completed a trip to the South Pole using a fixed ski (ph). His 75 mile journey took him two weeks and 250,000 pushes but he did it. Supporters were able to sponsor his trip and help raise money for spinal injury research. Grant Korgan, for overcoming the odds, you are today's Rock Star.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone, glad you're with us today. And back now to Iowa which usually doesn't come up this long after the caucuses. More than two weeks after we all thought Mitt Romney won the closest Republican presidential contest in history, Iowa GOP officials say the final certified results, minus a few precincts, show Rick Santorum did not finish eight votes behind but actually finished 34 votes ahead.

You see the numbers right there. That's out of more than 121,000 votes cast. So, the difference mathematically is nil. Politically, well, it takes the wind out of this claim from Romney, who supposedly won Iowa and New Hampshire back to back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENT CANDIDATE: Thank you, New Hampshire. Tonight we made history!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So now, we give some face time to the chairman of the Republican party of Iowa, Matt Strawn. Mr. Strawn, nice to have you on the program. This is getting a lot of attention today, but either way this year's caucus was certainly one for the books.

MATT STRAWN, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA: Well, it was, Randi, especially when you have -- when you remember what the caucus process is. These are volunteer grassroots activists that are organizing their own local precincts.

So, we had over 1,774 precincts that not only did we have to get results reported in caucus night, as you remember, it was about 2:00 a.m. from and then at 2:00 a.m. when we made that final declaration of the unofficial results. But then we had a 14-day certification process whereby all of the precinct -- the volunteer precinct leaders had to get us the official forms, so we could make sure we got a certified vote total. And of course, that's what you saw released today. We were able to release certified results from 1,766 of the state's 1,774 precincts.

KAYE: So, what exactly brought about this change in the official results? How did we get here?

STRAWN: Sure, very simple. Human typographical error. The way the caucus process works, the results are either entered into a secure computer system for a particular precinct, or they actually call into a volunteer call center. And really the one county whose results swung the most, in northeast Iowa, Fayette County had two precincts where a volunteer entered a 54 for Mitt Romney when it should have been a four and they entered a 44 in another precinct where it should have been a four.

So obviously, when that county submitted its required in official forms, we were able to match them up and realize that we had a discrepancy. And that accounted for about a 94 swing in Rick Santorum's favor. And of course, there were a few other typos along the way, but, you know, any time -- as you said, any time you have a race this close, that's why a secure certification process is so important.

KAYE: And what about these missing precincts? I mean, that certainly raises some eyebrows. How common is something like that? STRAWN: Well of course, it's the first time we've ever been -- you know, have this tightly contested of a race under that kind of scrutiny. Historically, there is always anywhere from about eight to a dozen precincts that, for whatever reason, their results never make it to Republican headquarters.

All those results, they phoned in results caucus night. But in the due diligence of our staff trying to locate these volunteer precinct committee people, we just weren't able to get their forms in. Their county shares, the process, these precinct chairs give the forms to their volunteer county chair, who then sends them all to Republican headquarters. So in doing our due diligence with the county chairs, you know, some simply lost them. Another gentleman happened to be on vacation and was completely unreachable. But, you know, the most important part of the process from our standpoint is making sure that the certified results accurately reflect how Iowans voted the night on January 3rd.

KAYE: What do you say to people who look at this and look at what happened in Iowa and maybe they've lost faith in the Iowa caucuses? What do you want to say to them?

STRAWN: Well, I don't think you should lose faith in a process that is completely run by volunteers and grassroots activists who, you know, really wanted to get involved in the process. We see similar problems in state run elections with paid state employees. And the fact that everything was done transparently. You know have to remember, during the caucus process, not only do citizens get to watch the votes being counted, but campaign representatives do as well. So you actually don't have a more transparent and open process than in the Iowa caucuses.

Of course, as a Republican, hopefully eight years from now we'll revisit those things that we can always improve. But for the most part, it was just an incredible showing, not just by volunteers across the state, but, you know, whether it was Senator Santorum, whether it was Governor Romney, I don't think it's a coincidence that the only four remaining presidential candidates in the race are your top four finishers in the Iowa caucus. So I think the relevance of the caucus is just as strong today as it was on January 3rd.

KAYE: Matt Strawn, thank you very much for your time.

The Iowa caucus winner reversal isn't the only big political shakeup today. Rick Perry calls it a day and says Newt Gingrich is the man to beat President Obama. Will his endorsement have any sway with South Carolina voters? Up next, I'll talk the reporter who broke the story. CNN's Peter Hamby on the ground for us there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Lots of news happening in the CNN NEWSROOM today. CNN political report Peter Hamby was first to break the news this morning that Texas Governor Rick Perry was dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination. Peter joins me now from Charleston, site of tonight's CNN debate. Peter, what do you know about how Rick Perry came to this decision to leave the race?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, it's pretty interesting because, if you'll recall, the morning after the Iowa caucuses, you know, he had said he might go back to Texas and reassess his campaign. Then he went for this revelatory jog outside of Des Moines and decided, you know, I'm all in in South Carolina. I asked his communications director, Ray Sullivan, today, who was holding court with reporters over here in Charleston, what changed between then and now? And he said, frankly, they just didn't see a path forward.

You know, Perry was actually getting big crowds here in South Carolina. The problem for him, though, was that these voters that came out to see him, while they liked his message and they liked him personally, he's an (INAUDIBLE) guy, just did not think he was viable against President Obama. Those debates really hurt his perception among Republican voters.

So his family is supposedly all on board with this decision. Perry's going back to Texas this weekend. He endorsed Speaker Gingrich, as you know, but there are no plans right now for him to actually campaign with Gingrich. That might change after South Carolina. South Carolina is now a wild card. These last 48 hours have not been good for Mitt Romney. And now with, you know, Rick Perry getting behind Newt Gingrich, you could see some movement on the conservative side, that anti-Romney vote, to Newt Gingrich.

KAYE: Yes, let's --

HAMBY: So we'll have to wait and see. Go ahead.

KAYE: Let's listen to what Rick Perry said about his former rival, Newt Gingrich, earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no question that Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reform. The ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement. The courage to tell those Washington interests to take a hike, if that's what's in the best interest of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Why endorse Gingrich? And was endorsing Rick Santorum ever a possibility here, do you think, Peter?

HAMBY: I think the overarching theme that I'm hearing is that Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich have a long, friendly relationship, quite frankly. You know, they -- Speaker Gingrich wrote the introduction to Rick Perry's book "Fed Up" that came out last year. They've always spoken kindly about each other. Yes, Rick Perry has hit Newt Gingrich, along with Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, as sort of these corporate Wall Street, Washington insiders. But I can tell you that Rick Perry and Gingrich have a nice relationship. KAYE: Yes.

HAMBY: And I also know that Perry and Governor Romney do not have a good relationship. And one Perry source told me earlier today that they just don't think Mitt Romney is conservative. But Perry's not putting all his capital on the line. If he was going to stay here in South Carolina and really go out there and campaign hard for Gingrich, he might be doing that, but he's kind of stepping off to the sidelines really to see how things shake out over the next few days, Randi.

KAYE: Peter Hamby, nicely done breaking that news for us that Rick Perry was dropping out. Thank you for your report from Charleston.

And just a day before the South Carolina primary, the GOP contenders face off for what could be the final debate. Be sure to watch the Southern Republican Presidential Debate right here on CNN tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

It sounds like a Hollywood horror flick but what's unfolding right now in the Hollywood Hills is the real deal. A human head, severed hands and feet all found along a trail there. Who is the victim? Who killed him? And could there be more grisly discoveries? I'll talk to the investigator there on the ground coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A bizarre mystery unfolding in the Hollywood Hills area is getting creepier by the day. Detectives have now found a pair of severed human hands and feet 50 yards from where a man's head was discovered earlier. Two hikers had found the head in an area not far from actor Brad Pitt's house. Police say the man had salt and pepper hair and was possibly 40 to 60 years old. Ironically, Brad Pitt had starred in the movie "Seven," you may recall, where the character he played received his wife's head in a box.

We're now joined by LAPD Commander Andrew Smith.

Commander, nice to see you.

CMDR. ANDREW SMITH, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Thanks.

KAYE: We hear that Brad Pitt's bodyguard has been questioned. Is he believed to have seen something unusual related to this case?

SMITH: No, not really. It's standard procedure for us in a major case like this is to have our detectives canvas the entire neighborhood. Apparently he lives close by here. We had a squad of detectives going from house to house and apparently he was just one of those people that that squad of detectives interviewed.

KAYE: So how wide of an area are we talking about that you have investigators on the ground searching?

SMITH: Well, we have about 100 investigators, mostly from the Los Angeles Police Department. We also have sheriff's search and rescue. We have park rangers. We're searching an area right now that's about seven acres up here in the woods in the hills behind me.

KAYE: I understand that you found a couple of severed hands. Is it possible that you might be able to get some fingerprints off those hands still?

SMITH: Yes, that's what we're hoping. The first thing we're going to try is to get fingerprints. The hands are at the coroner's office now. But one of the problems is, is after a hand has been severed for a while, not to get too gross, but once a hand has been severed, it starts to get desiccated or dried out. They have to basically pump it up a little bit so that the fingertips can get -- fingerprints can be taken from the fingertips.

KAYE: Do you have any suspects or any clues at this time that's worth anything?

SMITH: No, we don't have any suspects. We're going to keep an open mind and try and follow the case where the clues lead us. Right now we believe that the crime, the murder did not occur up in the hills here. Obviously we don't have the torso and we're trying to find that. But we believe that this murder occurred someplace else and these body parts were deposited up here in Griffith Park.

KAYE: So, are you still looking for more body parts or just more maybe articles of clothing?

SMITH: A little bit of everything. We're looking for additional body parts. We'd like to find the remainder of this poor guy. Any other clues that we can find. Anything at all that would lead us to whoever committed this crime.

KAYE: You know, this is a popular area. I don't have to tell you that. I mean I myself have actually hiked up to the Hollywood sign. A lot of people go there. What do you want to say to the people? I mean should -- is this a public concern at this point? Is there danger?

SMITH: Well, right now there is somebody who committed a murder somewhere out there. That's something everybody should be concerned about. But generally this is a pretty safe area. We're going to open up the park probably tomorrow morning. We'll open this section of the park again tomorrow morning. We just ask people to be cautious. Maybe hike with friends. You know, don't go off alone. Just a little bit extra caution now until we find this guy. And we've got our robbery homicide guys working on it, so we'll find this guy.

KAYE: Have you had a chance to look at some missing persons report that might match what this guy looks like, at least part of him?

SMITH: You know, the city of Los Angeles takes about 3,300 missing persons reports every year. We find about 80 percent of those. Our detectives are scouring through all those missing person reports, not only in Los Angeles, but in the surrounding communities as well, to try and see if maybe we can figure out who this poor soul was.

KAYE: And any idea how long these body parts might have been there? SMITH: No. As you know, with the wildlife we have in the hills here, with the coyotes and what not, if a body part is left up there, it's not long before it starts to get disturbed by the animals. We believe that this is a fairly recent occurrence. A matter of just a couple of days or so.

KAYE: Commander Andrew Smith, what a bizarre story you have there on your hands. Please be sure to keep us up to date and thank you.

Rick Perry says Newt Gingrich is the only candidate who can rally conservatives and beat President Obama, but can his endorsement help push the former speaker ahead in South Carolina? That's "Fair Game" next.

But first, a question for our political junkies today. Rick Perry called it quits today right before the South Carolina primary. Four years ago, two Republican hopefuls withdrew from the White House race right after the South Carolina primary. Who were they? If you know the answer, tweet it to me @randikayecnn. If you're first, you'll get a shout-out right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Before the break I asked you to name two Republican hopefuls who left the 2008 race after the South Carolina primary? Who were they? Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter. Congratulations to Michael from Michigan. You were first to tweet the right answer.

Two earthquakes rattled the Republican presidential race today. Texas Governor Rick Perry says he's leaving the race, and he endorses Newt Gingrich on the way out. We also learn Mitt Romney did not win the Iowa caucuses after all. Rick Santorum did.

This is all "Fair Game."

Let's talk about it with Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona; and Republican strategist, Cheri Jacobus.

It's good to see you both.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Cheri, let's start with you.

Rick Perry heading home to Texas but not before endorsing Newt Gingrich. Are we seeing conservatives rally around Gingrich just as he had asked for a predicted they would?

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think a lot of them are but, remember, evangelicals got together about a week or so ago and decided to support Rick Santorum. They did that in Rick Perry's home state of Texas. That had to sting a little bit. Mitt Romney still has the support of a lot of conservatives. He's working very hard for it. Little by little, they are becoming comfortable with him. So I think there's still a fight for conservative vote. What you see with Newt Gingrich is he's starting to get the alternative-to Romney vote. So that's about it. I still think, just to say he has the conservative vote would be a bit of a stretch at this point.

KAYE: Let's talk about his polls numbers. He's rising in the polls. We all know what that means. He'll get more hits on him. Certainly, people focusing on his personal life, his marriage. Listen to what Rick Perry said about Gingrich a while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, (R), GOVERNOR OF TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe Newt is conservative visionary who can transform our country. We've had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. And Newt is not perfect but --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So, Maria, what do you think? Are his failings -- is this old news to conservatives? Do you think they care?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that's what I think Rick Perry was making the point of. This was his way of giving his blessing to Newt Gingrich so his followers feel comfortable giving their vote to Newt.

I think it is definitely a try for the conservatives to try to coalesce behind one candidate going into to South Carolina because they know this is a make-or-break moment for every conservative, evangelical in the Republican Party who despises Mitt Romney, and there are a lot of them.

They know that this is it for them. If they don't coalesce behind one candidate, if somebody comes out of South Carolina -- doesn't come out of South Carolina, really giving Mitt Romney a run for his money, they know Mitt Romney is going to come away with the nomination. That's what they don't want to have happen.

KAYE: Let's talk about the news coming out of Iowa today, Cheri. We find out Rick Santorum actually won the caucus, not Mitt Romney. What does this mean for Santorum's momentum and Romney's momentum? It's not as historic as everybody thought?

JACOBUS: It's a nice talking point for Santorum. No question about it. He made big news, whether he won by a few votes or lost with a few votes in Iowa. He was still big news. It still means Mitt Romney did well and is still not planning on playing in. Iowa is good for both of them. But it is good for Rick Santorum. It helps him should he not be the nominee when he eventually does have this endorsement to give, that will deliver a great many evangelicals to whoever the nominee is. And I would take issue with the word despise Maria used. I don't think people despise Mitt Romney. They have their preferences and they would like to have --

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: they would like to have the campaign, whoever is the nominee, to focus on some of the issues. There are some who are vehement about it. Despise is a strong word. (CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: That word came straight out of the mouth of a group of conservatives that was represented by a conservative woman out of South Carolina and she made no bones about it.

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: It's no different than the primary that the Democrats had in 2008. It got very nasty with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. They turned around and made friends. He made her his secretary of state after he had his supporters, on of his surrogates say she was unfit to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then she became secretary of state. So we know how these things happen in the primary, but eventually they come together for the nominee.

KAYE: Maria, I want you to comment on the recent poll. If you look at Gingrich's surge, the new CNN/"Time"/ORC poll, Gingrich has cut Romney's lead to 10 points. Romney is just seven points ahead in a new poll released by "Politico." What do you think is behind it, quickly?

CARDONA: I think there's two things. First, we already discussed, evangelicals and conservatives know that this is a make-or- break moment. But the second thing is, and I find is so ironic, and you see it in interview after interview, they say that they are sick of negative ads. But guess what, negative ads work. We have the PAC now up with extremely negative ads against Mitt Romney. That has been a huge factor in making sure that that margin is diminishing, and it's diminishing in Newt Gingrich's favor. And he's enjoying the momentum in the right direction going into the South Carolina primary and that's good news for him.

KAYE: Maria, Cheri, don't go anywhere. Please stick around. Our conversation's just getting started. Up next, I want to talk about tonight's CNN debate. The countdown is on. We are just hours away. What do the hopefuls need to do tonight to have success on Saturday?

But first, a question for all of our "Political Junkies." The elephant has been the symbol of the Republican symbol since the 1870s. In what publication was the elephant first used to symbolize the GOP? It's a tough one. Tweet me at randykayeCNN. I'll give a shout out to the first person to get it right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Before the break I asked you to name the publication that was first to use an elephant as a symbol of the Republican Party. The answer, there you see it, "Harper's Weekly." When was it? Back in 1874. It was used in a cartoon drawn by Thomas, the same man who drew a donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party. And a big congratulations to Nick who was first to tweet me the right answer. We have a lot of right answers. Thanks everyone for playing "Political Junkie."

Newt Gingrich is rising in the polls and this is all happening hours before tonight's CNN debate.

We're talking about it with Maria Cardona and Cheri.

Newt Gingrich is having a pretty good run there in the last few days. The primary is almost here. What, if anything, do you think could side track him?

JACOBUS: Well, obviously, the news that his ex-wife is coming out with this interview that's supposed to be damaging, although that's ameliorated in some part by the news that the divorce papers show that she actually left him for about five or six years prior to everything going bad. So I think for him to do is to stay away from the personal stuff. Mitt Romney should stay away from the personal stuff. Negative ads work, or the super PACs do.

They need to stay positive and stay how tough they are against Barack Obama. That's what voters care about. They need to really hone in on some of the issues and focus on jobs, focus on the economy. They will be talking about Keystone and how the president really blew it and pandering to the far left base on that. There's plenty for them to talk about without getting into this and that the tit and tat on who said what with regard to the super PAC ads.

KAYE: Maria, we have tonight's CNN debate, which begins at 8:00 eastern. What does Romney have to do, Maria, to regain that momentum tonight?

CARDONA: Romney is going to have to prove that he can take the massive attacks that he will face tonight. Let's face it, he does not have an adequate answer to why he hasn't released his tax returns. He does not have an adequate answer to all of the accusations on what he did at his tenure at Bain Capital. And all of that will be a focus tonight. In addition to the fact that he doesn't have a good answer as to why, when he was governor of Massachusetts, his state was 47th in ranking in terms of job creation. And yet, he says he knows how to create jobs.

He needs to understand that he's going to be the target of these attacks and he can't get rattled, which is something he was not able to do in the last debate. The last debate performance was one of the poorer performances that he had. He can't do that tonight.

KAYE: We've talked to all of the other candidates. I don't want to let you go without talking about Ron Paul, Cheri. What does Ron Paul need to do to stay in this and go on to Florida?

JACOBUS: I don't want to give advice to Ron Paul on how to stay in this and go on to Florida, quite frankly.

(LAUGHTER)

He's way down in the polls nationally. A lot of people are wondering why he's still there. He has a very passionate following but they haven't indicated that they have a second choice. So I think that's what a lot of people are uncomfortable with. This is a Republican primary where you obviously fight hard for your first choice, and then look at your second choices and find what is good about them, and eventually the party coalesces around the nominee. That happens with Republicans and with Democrats. And right now, it just doesn't seem like that is going to happen with the Ron Paul supporters. It will with some of them, but not all of them. It's a wild card there. It's interesting to watch. And I get lots of interesting e-mails from his supporters when I say something like this on the air.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: Well, get ready.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: I'm happy to give advice to Ron Paul, Randi.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: I'm sure you are, Maria. I'm sure.

Maria Cardona, Cheri Jacobus, thank you both.

That is "Fair Game."

JACOBUS: Thank you.

CARDONA: Thanks, Randi.

Just a day before the South Carolina primary, the GOP contenders are facing off for what could be the final debate. Watch the Southern Republican Presidential Debate right here on CNN. In case you haven't heard, tonight, 8:00 eastern.

A Major League Baseball pitcher puts his contract on the line for a cause. The message that New York Mets Pitcher R.A. Dickey wanted to send while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

But, first, have you ever walked out to your window and found that big bright sticker that they stick on your car? The one you don't want. In New York, the Sanitation Department reportedly sticks on more than 400 a day for parking violations? It says they are necessary, albeit annoying reminders to obey street cleanings. The city council just passed a bill to outlaw them, and it was unanimous. "The New York Times" calls the stickers, quote, "a scarlet letter." While stickers won't let us forget you, we say get those scrapers ready. Stickers, your 15 minutes are up.

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KAYE: You may recognize our next guest. R.A. Dickey pitches for the New York Mets, but he put his contract in jeopardy when he decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The Mets told him to take it easy during the off season but Dickey said no. He just returned from a trip up the mountain and he did for a good cause. He climbed it to raise money and awareness for this charity right here, Bombay Teen Challenge. The organization works to end human trafficking in Mumbai, India.

R.A. is joining us from Nashville.

So nice to have you on the show. It's incredible what you've done for this charity. But I have to ask, why did you decide to risk your career as a professional pitcher to climb the tallest free- standing mountain on earth?

R.A. DICKEY, NEW YORK METS PITCHER & CLIMBED MT. KILIMANJARO: I think first off, I kind of just weighed the options as far as what was risky and what wasn't. This was something that I felt logically didn't carry the technical climbing skills that an average climber might carry. It was nothing more than a glorified hike. I felt on all fronts it was going to be OK and I weighed the risk and decided to go forward with it.

KAYE: I know the Mets weren't too happy about it. They were concerned about you getting injured. How do they feel now that you're back and what you've done?

DICKEY: Well, I completely can empathize with any major league club that would want to protect their investment. But at the same time, I think privately, they were probably all supporting me behind the paper statement they had to come forward and say look, if you do hurt yourself, we hold the right to void your contract. Behind closed doors, I think everybody was cheering me on. Now that I'm back, I think everybody is relieved.

KAYE: Why the Bombay Teen Challenge?

DICKEY: Well, I have two daughters. I have four kids and two daughters, 9 and 8. The thought of my own daughters being exposed to the atrocities that happened in Mumbai in the broth he wills and sex slavery over there was heart breaking. I felt almost criminal not trying to use any platform that I had to raise awareness for a cause that is incredibly worthy.

KAYE: We had some pictures of you just a moment ago of you making your climb. What was the climb like and how did it feel when you made it to the top?

DICKEY: Physically, it was the most arduous thing I've ever had to do. I've trained as an athlete for most of my life, but this took the cake I think. A 7.5 hour summit attempt starting at 10:30 at night and then a 10.5 hour descent. On the summit day, we hiked for 17.5 straight hours. That was as physically demanding of a thing as I've ever done. But when you get to the top and you see the sun rise and the red glow above the clouds, you can't help but feel like you know, you're the only person on earth. KAYE: It must have been incredible. The pictures certainly are. About the other guys you had with you? A couple other major league players joined you on the climb? How did they do?

DICKEY: They did good. We all experienced some mild symptoms of altitude sickness. I started to get mild hallucinations but I was able to kind of rest and drink water and I began to crystallize. Another guy needed a hit of oxygen before he could proceed. But we all were able to push to the peak at about the 19,400 feet.

KAYE: Wow. Mild hallucinations. I will leave those to you. But really incredible what you've done. Incredible accomplishment also for that charity.

Thank you so much, R.A. Dickey.

DICKEY: Thanks a lot.

KAYE: A reminder, CNN has joined the fight to end modern day slavery. Learn more on the CNN Freedom Project on our web site, CNN.com.

Coming up next, a Georgia mother is charged with cruelty after getting her 10-year-old son tattooed. Wait until you hear the woman's reason. That's next.

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KAYE: Time now for a look stories making news across the country at "Street Level."

First to Canton, Georgia, where a judge sentenced Ryan Brunn to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brunn pleaded guilty to murdering 7-year old Jirelli Rivera. Her mangled body was found stuffed in a trash compacter three days after she went missing last month. Listen to Brunn's confession in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN BRUNN, CONVICTED OF MURDER: I was going to lure her in for sexual conduct with myself here. I never had an idea of killing a child in my life. I was just so terrified and scared that I didn't want her to go home and tell her mom or dad on me. And I just -- I cut her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Brunn's guilty plea spares him from the death penalty.

In Detroit, Michigan, Ford is doing something it hadn't done in four years, giving salaried workers merit raises and bonuses this spring. That means good news for 20,000 employees starting April 1st. The free press says hourly workers will likely get a second profit- sharing check in March based on Ford's earnings.

A generous history buff is doing what he can to repair history in Washington. We're telling you about a donation in the amount of $7.5 million for the Washington Monument. The money will be used to help fix the extensive damage from the earthquake last August. David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the firm the Carlyle Group, is the man behind the massive donation. He says his reasons are simple.

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DAVID RUBENSTEIN, CARLYLE GROUP: I hope that we reopen this monument as soon as possible so everybody who wants to pay homage to our first president and see the building can do so.

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KAYE: The National Parks Service doesn't know when the Washington Monument will be reopened to the public.

Get ready for more sticker shock at the pump. You could be paying four bucks or more a gallon by this spring. We've been paying the highest prices ever at the pump this month. AAA says the all-time high is $4.11, reached in the summer of 2008.

Now to Gwinnett County, north of Atlanta. After public outcry and protests recently, the teacher who used slave questions to teach math has resigned from this elementary school. Officials say the teacher was trying to mix history with a math assignment for his third grade class. According to affiliate, WGCL, while the teacher resigned who created the questions, they were copied and used by three other teachers. Parents and the NAACP are calling on the school district to fire them.

Now to the other side of Atlanta. What would you do if your son or daughter asked to get a tattoo? A Georgia mom said yes, and got arrested. She was charged with misdemeanor child cruelty after she allegedly allowed her 10-year-old son to get a tattoo in memory of his 12-year-old brother, who died after being hit by a car. She was arrested after someone at her son's school noticed the tattoo and alerted officials. She says she had no idea that it's illegal in Georgia to tattoo anyone under 19. She's now out of jail waiting for a court hearing, which will happen in March.

If you think you've heard everything, you haven't heard this. An Ohio dairy farmer has created a spa of sorts for his cows. This is something. These beauties go to sleep on comfy waterbeds. The beds are seven feet long, four feet wide and each holds 14 gallons of water. They cost 300 bucks each. Farmer Dave Conrad says, quote, "We do our very best to keep the cows happy." Next thing you know, maybe they'll be getting a cow manicure.

Thanks for watching today. I'd love to hear what you think. You can continue the conversation with me on Facebook or Twitter at RandikayeCNN.

And CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hi, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Cows and waterbeds? How do I continue on, Randi Kaye?

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you so much.