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Conflicting Accounts About Costa Concordia Captain's Role; Newt Gingrich Blasts News Media; War on the Web; South Carolina Debate

Aired January 20, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed.

The South Carolina primary just one day away. And the Republican candidates, they are making their closing arguments to the voters. They tried to turn up the heat on one another at a CNN debate. That was last night.

Newt Gingrich also turning up the heat on the news media. It all started when our John King asked about an accusation by Gingrich's ex- wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, MODERATOR: She says that you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. She says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage.

Would you like to take some time to respond to that?

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, but I will.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: And I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate. I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It is now one week since the luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy. Now a woman has come forward defending the captain.

She says that media reports of him being among the first to leave the ship after it hit the rocks she says is not true. The woman says she works for the cruise line but was on the ship as a passenger. And she says she had gone to the deck to help translate the captain's orders after hearing a coded announcement.

However, there's a cook here from the Concordia who says that the captain sat down for dinner with the woman after the ship slammed into the rocks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGELIO BARISTA, COSTA CONCORDIA COOK (through translator): I have had 12 years of experience as a cook on a cruise ship. I've even witnessed fires. So I wasn't that scared.

But I did wonder though what the captain was doing. Why was he still there?

Anyway, we gave him his drink. After that, he was also still waiting for the dessert to be served to the woman he was with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ETTA JAMES, SINGER (singing): -- my love has come along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: She was a true original. Her music defied category. Loving words about Etta James, who died today in a California hospital.

The legendary singer had been suffering from leukemia, among other illnesses. And her husband and sons were reportedly with her when she passed away.

Etta James was 73. We're going to miss her.

The Pentagon confirms today that six American troops were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, and they were all U.S. Marines. A military official also confirms the helicopter was a CH-53. It was one just like this one. The Taliban say they shot it down yesterday, but NATO believes it was a mechanical problem.

And some penn state alums, they're angry about how Joe Paterno was fired. They plan to show up today at a meeting of the school's board of trustees.

Now, the group says Paterno was fired without dues process. They don't like the fact that he was told over the phone. They want to replace all of the trustees.

Joe Paterno, he was fired, you may recall, in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving one of his coaches. He was Penn State's head coach for 46 years.

You're now looking at some live pictures. These are protesters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court today, members of the Occupy movement. They're going to mark the two-year anniversary of a ruling that allowed for the rise of super PACs.

We've been hearing a lot about those super PACs, political action committees. They raise unlimited funds for the candidates. Occupy is also planning protests outside federal courthouses around the country. Ten thousand people in Nevada have been forced from their homes because of this fast-moving wildfire. I want you to listen -- just listen to the roar of these flames.

Unbelievable. Very powerful.

This fire just south of Reno killing one person so far, destroying 20 buildings. Firefighters say they managed to contain about half the flames. Just look at that. The trees are just bent over as that wind takes over. Nevada's governor has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County.

I want to get back to the story of the doomed cruise ship that is off the coast of Italy. We are now hearing conflicting reports about what the captain did in the minutes, the hours after that ship went down.

Our Dan Rivers, he's joining us live from Giglio Island, Italy.

Dan, it is now seven days after this disaster. We're still trying to figure out what actually happened there. And now there are different stories about the role of the captain.

What have you been able to piece together so far?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. I mean, there are two conflicting accounts that seem to be emerging.

One is of a reckless captain who, first of all, deviated from the plotted course, hit the rocks, and then completely failed in his duty to ensure everyone was evacuated, even ordering dinner after the accident and sitting and waiting for his dessert, according to the chef on board. Another account though from one colleague at least of his and others saying that he did everyone that he could, that he stayed on the ship until almost midnight, which is completely at odds with the kind of testimony of the port authority and so on.

So, two very different kind of series of events that are being portrayed by his friends and by those who have criticized him. And I think probably the only way we're going to drill down and get to the truth of all of this is if this comes to a court case here in Italy and he is forced almost to give evidence, along with other people.

They're doing things, for example, like testing a strand of his hair to see if he has any traces of narcotics in his system. We haven't heard back on that yet. But I think there's going to be an awful lot more information that will come out over the coming months.

MALVEAUX: And Dan, I know that family members of some of those who died and some of those who are missing, they were taken out to the wreckage of the ship there. What was that for? What are authorities trying to learn or show them as they go out there to the ship?

RIVERS: I think, firstly, it was sort of to pay their respects, really. They offered some flowers into the water that we saw when we went out shortly afterward that were still floating near the wreck. Of course, the people who went out, including the mother of the 5- year-old missing Italian girl, are still clinging to the hope that there could be good news. But as you say, it's one week now since this happened, and I think the reality is beginning to dawn on them that the chances of fining their loved ones now are very remote indeed. And I think it was their chance to see for themselves just the massive wreck behind me and just to reflect really on what happened and the awful circumstances that the people on board found themselves in last Friday night.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dan, thank you very much. We appreciate the update.

All right. If you are watching, some serious, serious fireworks at last night's debate. Newt Gingrich came out swinging when asked about an ex-wife's accusation that he wanted an open marriage.

Which brings us to today's "Talk Back" question and Carol Costello from Washington with the question.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne.

And Suzanne, let's be honest about this.

Last night's South Carolina debate will be remembered for John King's very first question. You know, the one about Newt Gingrich's ex-wife accusing him of wanting an open marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Would you like to take some time to respond to that?

GINGRICH: No, but I will.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: As National Public Radio put it this morning, Gingrich decided if there was going to be a villain, it would be the media, not him. Although Gingrich has talked about his infidelities in the past, most notably with the Christian Broadcast Network last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: There's no question that at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate. I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness. Not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But Gingrich's ex said her husband wanted an open marriage so he could continue his affair with his mistress, all while Gingrich publicly rebuked President Clinton for his infidelity. Herman Cain, who has had his own problems with women accusing him of improprieties, is on Gingrich's side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He basically re- established what the American people really want to hear about. They don't care about what happened 15 to 20 years ago. That's the same kind of crap that they leveled against me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But maybe voters did care. Cain was forced to drop out of the presidential race after his poll numbers tanked after a series of women came forward with those sexual harassment accusations.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Are Gingrich's failed marriages fair game?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour..

MALVEAUX: There is some irony, Carol, I think, in covering President Clinton during the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal and all of the infidelities around that. Gingrich being one of those who was really key to pushing that. That was at the time that he was also carrying on this affair.

It will be interesting to see if that's actually something that they bring up, or if this completely goes away. You never know.

COSTELLO: Maybe so. You know, a lot of people say despite President Clinton's infidelity, he was a good president. So why should it make any difference what your marital past is? In the case of Newt Gingrich, he could make a great president.

MALVEAUX: All right. Let's see what folks have got to say.

Thank you, Carol.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. We are watching two live events that are taking place at this moment.

The Republican presidential candidates hitting the campaign trail in South Carolina. We're looking at live pictures there of Mitt Romney. He is in Gilbert. That is where he is holding a grassroots rally on jobs. Also, Rick Santorum holding a town hall in Lexington. That, also in South Carolina. He is calling it a Faith, Family and Freedom town hall.

Both of them working very hard to win over the South Carolina voters.

And Newt Gingrich, he's back on the campaign trail as well after blasting the news media in the debate last night.

Our John King asked Gingrich about his ex-wife's accusation that he wanted an open marriage. Now, Gingrich denied the accusation, and then this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story was false.

We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor, they're attacking me. I'm sure they will get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul.

I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. I want to bring in our senior political analyst, David Gergen, to talk a little bit about this.

I remember doing in 2008 one of the Democratic debates. Joe Biden had some harsh words for me in one of the questions he didn't like, but it was nothing like what we saw last night, when Newt Gingrich went up against CNN and the media, one of the most explosive moments you have called in debate history.

How so?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it had been a tumultuous day, a head-snapping day yesterday with so many events. And then to come in to have the first question out of the box be, boom, right there with John King -- an appropriate question, I might add -- but Newt Gingrich was clearly waiting for it.

He saw the fastball coming, and from a political point of view, he knocked it out of the park. I think that in retrospect, at the end of the debate, strikingly enough, Newt Gingrich told Anderson Cooper on CNN air that John King had done a great job as a moderator, and Newt had a private moment with John which was quite civil.

So I think there was a lot of theatrics involved with this, but even so, Newt Gingrich I think brought the crowd to its feet twice. And I think he brought a lot of voters to the poll tomorrow. MALVEAUX: Do you think that this could be a game-changer, even allowing Gingrich to grab South Carolina's primary?

GERGEN: Well, Suzanne, certainly when you and I spoke in Atlanta not very long ago, around the New Hampshire primary, and we looked down the road and saw South Carolina, Romney had built up a big lead, some 20 points. It appeared that he would win here in South Carolina and basically seal the nomination, that the fight would be over. Newt Gingrich was in fact suggesting that he might withdraw.

So, to have this rapid change so that they are neck-and-neck, with Newt having the momentum, and many here think that he may well win this, that has transformed this race. I might also add that the Gallup organization has said this morning that they have a new national tracking poll coming out which shows that nationwide, Newt Gingrich has cut Mitt Romney's lead in half over the last days, and it's a much closer national race.

So that gives the Gingrich people a lot of incentive to go on. Rick Santorum clearly wants to go on if he can. Ron Paul is going to go on.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

GERGEN: Yes, I think we've got -- I think whatever happens tomorrow, this race is going to go beyond South Carolina.

MALVEAUX: And Romney tried very hard to keep the focus on going after Obama. Here's how he described the stakes last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's changing the very nature of America. He's turning us not from a merit society, an opportunity society, where people are free to choose their own course, but instead he is making us an entitlement society where people think they are entitled to what other people have, where government takes from some and gives to others. That has never been the source of American greatness. We need to return to the principles upon which this country was founded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, David, do we think that that is the narrative that we're going to see going into the general election? Because we've heard Newt Gingrich calling President Obama the food stamp president. We heard Rick Perry on his way out reminding voters that there are 50 million Americans on food stamps.

Is that their main theme, the Republicans?

GERGEN: Clearly, the Republicans are trying to energize their base on this whole idea that, somehow, Barack Obama doesn't share your values, he's not quite an American. It goes back to the whole birther movement. It has its roots in the birther movement. He's sort of other. He's someone else. I don't think that's going to win a national election. I think this election is going to turn on jobs and the economy. The middle class is much more concerned about that. But you can certainly hear within these debates that theme coming back again and again.

Now let me just say about Governor Romney, in contrast to Newt Gingrich, both of them had difficult issues to deal with last night. And Newt Gingrich, as we just said, seemed to do well with the crowd.

By contrast, Governor Romney, who had -- 90 percent of the debate for him was fine. He was this normal, very, very good debater. When it came down to that extra 10 percent about his taxes and his wealth, I'm not the only one to say that, but he clearly was uncomfortable. And the crowd even booed when he talked about his tax returns.

He is stumbling on this issue for inexplicable reasons. But, Suzanne, it is costing him. And there is this sense that he's other, he's someone else, he's someone who lives in a stratosphere. And, yes, he's been very successful, and we should praise him for that, salute him for it, but somehow in the process he's lost his emotional touch or tie to normal folks.

MALVEAUX: Right. David, thank you. We'll be watching on Saturday, of course, the South Carolina primary.

The road to the Republican nomination for president certainly stopping next in South Carolina. Watch CNN, Saturday night, 7:00 Eastern, as the contenders, you, me, we all wait for the final results.

Call it a shootout in cyberspace. The hacking group Anonymous, it's taking revenge now on the FBI for shutting down a popular piracy site.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It is a war on the Web. The FBI just shut down Megaupload.com. It's an online storehouse for illegally distributed content. But the hacker group Anonymous is fighting back, temporarily taking out several government Web sites.

Amber Lyon, she's been following the story for us.

And Amber, tell us how this all went down.

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this all happened yesterday. Anonymous says the shutdown of Megaupload.com is really the straw that broke the camel's back. They've been protesting all week against anti-piracy legislation.

They see this as censorship and something that could really turn into a slippery slope, possibly leading to the shutdown of larger file- sharing Web sites like YouTube, Facebook. The Department of Justice says though that Megaupload.com -- it's the 13th most visited site on the Net -- was an illegal hub for copyrighted TV shoes, images, computer software, and video games, generating more than $175 million in illegal profits. Almost immediately after Megaupload was shut down, these cyberactivists gathered online and began what's known as a distributed denial of service attack on U.S. government Web sites. Now, a DDOS attack occurs when computers flood a site with so much traffic, that it actually causes that site's servers to crash.

I spoke with some Anons who were involved in these successful attacks against the DOJ's Web site and the FBI's Web site, and they say they were watching this operation very closely. Here's what went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYON: So, Anonymous sees the shutdown of Megaupload as a type of Internet censorship?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. It's a violation of a freedom of speech, and Anonymous and a lot of other movements regard the Internet as sort of independent from any government, and they regard a government interfering in the free flow of the Internet stepping outside the jurisdiction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYON: And most of those targeted Web sites are now back online.

We talked with a law enforcement official, and he tells CNN that the FBI is investigating. We asked them if they believe Anonymous was involved. They say they are looking into computer forensics to try to figure out who the culprit is -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, because the Department of Justice site, I guess it was up and running until this morning. Do we know if it's a second attack, or do we know if Anonymous is responsible for that?

LYON: Well, Anonymous had said -- some Anons had said that they were going back and re-attacking the site.

At one point I tried to log on and it didn't work, and then, within moments later, it did work again. But one thing that Anonymous is saying is that yesterday's attacks were epic, and that now they say they've given the average Joe the ability to become an Internet activist through a certain program that essentially allows average Joes to sit at home and use this software to maybe simultaneously watch football and be attacking the FBI's Web site with a DDOS attack -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Amber.

Well, rescue workers have again suspended the search of that Italian cruise ship because of more movement.

Our Chad Myers is here to kind of explain what we're talking about here.

This is more than 110,00 tons, right, this ship?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A big ship.

It's as long as the Empire State Building is tall, and it's laying on its side, and it's laying on a very tough slope, a very steep slope. And it's not laying on a beach.

If it was laying on Miami Beach, they wouldn't worry about it. But it's laying on a very difficult slope.

This is going to go from about 20 feet to about 70 feet in less than a football field. So, as this moves, if this slides into the ocean, this entire boat could stop being literally stopped by the ocean bottom and slide farther down. That's why they had to pull the divers out.

But I just went on our breaking news site here at CNN, and they have put workers back into the boat, but only above the water line. So they are working above the water line now back into those cabins that are above the water line.

Let me take you here. There's Italy, here's the boot, Rome. We'll zoom you right into the island.

There's the island here, and there's the ship as it lays on its side. And if you're a mariner, if you're a boater, or even if you're a fisherman and you're on a boat, you look at the shore. And when you look at the shore, you look at how the land above the water is sloping.

Dave, go ahead and tilt that.

If you look at the slope, you can assume that the slope continues into the water. Now, of course there could be jagged rocks, there could be shoals, there could be many other things. But, in general, it slopes in the same direction.

Go ahead, Dave. Spin me around. We'll get you a better idea.

This kind of falls off this rock that the captain was sitting on down into literally the bottom of the ocean, many, many feet down from here.

Here's a graphic that mariners will understand, and I'm going to try to let you understand. As lines get closer together, there are lines of equal distance or depth. This line right here is 30 feet. This line right here is 60 feet. This line right here is 150 feet.

The ship is laying right there. If this ship decides to slide -- it literally could slide into the ocean -- it would float for a while, but there's big holes in the bottom. It wouldn't float for long. This boat would go all the way to the bottom of the ocean -- at least the bottom here -- and you would never see the boat again.

That's why it is so dangerous for these workers to be here. They are above the water line now. If this boat moves again, they're back out of the ship. I guarantee it. MALVEAUX: And Chad, I understand we're just getting some word here that the part of the boat, the ship that's not submerged, they are going to resume their search in that particular area. I'm assuming that that is good news.

MYERS: That's good news, because that's where you'd find survivors. I understand that they wanted to get down below and find what was under there, but you're not going to find survivors under water. You're not going to find survivors under the water line.

You're only going to find them in those dry cabins if they are still alive. They would only be above the water line, not below. So I'm glad the energy now is above the water line looking for those people that still could be alive with air -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: One day before voters in South Carolina are heading to the polls, one day after a fierce and fiery debate, are we seeing a shift in the Republican race for president? We're going to talk with political strategists from both parties.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here is a rundown of some of the stories we're working on. South Carolina voters are getting to vote in the Republican primary.

We're going to talk about last night's debate, who is hurt? Who was help?

Then we talk to the first openly gay woman to compete for the title Miss California, her motivations and her challenges.

And later, all right, it's kind of fun, right, you call your boss psycho. What do you know? Is it really true? They could really be a psychopath. We have a way for you to find out if that's the real deal.

It was a show-stopping moment in the Republican debate. Newt Gingrich engaged in a smack down against the news media. Gingrich was asked about an accusation from his ex-wife that he asked for an open marriage. Here's what some people in the audience thought about the question and the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the big issue today is whether or not Newt is the jerk that we think he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's relevant, but I think it's uncalled for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look at it like this. We elected Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His answer was the highlight of the evening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he's cheating on his wife, what else is he cheating on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He came off as a total jerk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was appropriate for Newt Gingrich to answer the way he did, absolutely. And I think the audience and everybody else agreed with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, joining us to talk about that and the other debate highlights, Jamal Simmons, he's a Democratic strategist and principal of the Raben Group and Crystal Wright, she's editor and blogger with conservativeblackchick.com. Good to have both of you with us today.

You heard the audiences take on the Gingrich tirade, the question and the answer. Jamal, I'll start with you. Do you think it's appropriate?

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, whether or not it's appropriate is one thing, but was it good politics, absolutely. The one thing Gingrich clearly has learned the lesson of politics.

But you learn very well when you do southern politics. When you're attacked, it is better to come back strong and hard and attack back than it is to sit there and shuffle your feet.

That's the difference between Newt Gingrich in that stage and Mitt Romney. When Mitt Romney gets asks questions about taxes or his wealth, you can feel his body moving around in the suit. It gets all squiggly.

But when Newt Gingrich gets asked a question about his personal life, he immediately goes back at the questioner and it's good politics.

MALVEAUX: And Crystal, good politics, Jamal says, he had taken this question a couple of times before the debate. He was very calm, very conservative measured in his defense here. Why do you suppose so explosive last night? What does it do for him in South Carolina?

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR/BLOGGER, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: I think Jamal hit the nail on the head. I mean, it was political theater at its best and it shows Newt Gingrich as the leader in chief. It was really a study in contrast.

Newt handled that inappropriate question like he said it was disgusting. It was something that we would expect maybe from a tabloid newspaper and he said, look, I'll answer it, but here's my answer.

You know, it doesn't matter. We should be here talking about jobs and Romney on the other hand gets his -- his feathers get ruffled and even Chris Christie says it's a no-brainer. Just release your taxes.

So I think at the end of the day, Newt comes out as the stronger leader and Romney has issues here and that's what we see playing out in South Carolina.

MALVEAUX: All right, let's talk about Romney a little bit because this was another contentious moment in the debate, the call for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns right away. We saw Newt Gingrich with a pretty slick move during the debate. He releases his tax returns. Here's how Romney responded when he was asked for his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I don't know how many years I'll release. I'll take a look at what our documents are and I'll release them multiple years. I don't know how many years but I'll be happy to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So Jamal, do you think that hurt him? Do you think South Carolina primary voters care about that?

SIMMONS: Yes. You could also feel him -- when the crowd reacted to his initial half hearted laugh and then his initial response, you could almost feel him change his response and he says he will produce multiple years, which he never said before.

He hasn't said that before last night that he will release multiple years. They have handled this horribly from the very beginning. All he had to say was we'll release it if we're the nominee.

Until then, we'll not talk about it anymore. We'll release it in April until nobody is talking about it anymore. For the other day he said, we'll release it in April, but I have a 15 percent tax rate. Now everybody is jumping on that. Instead of getting all of your bad news out in one day, it's all over the place.

MALVEAUX: Crystal, weigh in on that.

WRIGHT: Right, right, exactly. I mean, again, it makes Romney look like a flip-flopper, which he doesn't want to be. He needs to get the tax thing out of the way and just move on. I mean, his best moment last night what is when he defended capitalism.

He said, look, there's nothing wrong with making money. There's nothing wrong with making a profit. That's the Romney we need to see, the tough Romney. There's a reason in America why millions of people buy lottery tickets.

We live in a democracy. People want to be rich and aspire to something. That's what Romney needs to talk about. He needs to get the taxes out of the way and talk about how he's going to fix the economy and jobs and there's nothing wrong with capitalism. I think that's where he shined last night. MALVEAUX: Let's throw in Rick Santorum into the mix. We don't want to forget him. He went after Gingrich for what he called his grandiosity. Gingrich fired back. Listen to this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Grandiosity has never been a problem for Newt Gingrich. He handles it very, very well.

I'm not the most flamboyant and I don't get the biggest applause lines here, but I'm steady, I'm solid, I'm not going to do things that you're going to worry about. I'm going to be out there and make Barack Obama the issue in this campaign.

GINGRICH: You're right. I think grandiose thoughts. This is a grandiose country of big people doing big things and we need leadership prepared to take on big projects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, Jamal, who would Democrats like to see President Obama go up against? Which Republican would be more successful in making Obama the issue?

SIMMONS: Well, frankly, all of these candidates have flaws. If you look at Rick Santorum last night, he was really very strong. I thought he was very passionate, but you know, his stance on issues is a problem.

I mean, this is a guy who doesn't want birth control to be given to people. This is a problem. For Newt Gingrich, he learned another key lesson, which is if you got a weakness, find a way to turn that weakness into a strength. And he sure did that last night.

But with Mitt Romney, again, this is more evidence. Things are little more detach, a little more separate than where most people are. Maureen Dowd the other day called him a tin man. And that starts to get at what you start to feel about Mitt Romney.

That there's nothing really inside of him that's guiding him. He's just doing whatever to takes to try through whatever fight he's in at the moment.

MALVEAUX: Crystal, you get the last word.

WRIGHT: You know, I think either Romney or Gingrich can beat President Barack Obama because President Barack Obama is probably one of the -- he's the most flawed candidate that -- in the 2012 race.

And I think what Democrats really fear is Gingrich gets the nomination. He eviscerates Barack Obama and his record of failure and Newt Gingrich is grandiose. Newt Gingrich worked with President Clinton. He balanced a budget.

He brought Republicans back in power after 40 years in Siberia. He created 11 million jobs against a Democrat president and he reformed welfare. With Newt Gingrich, you know what you're getting. He's not afraid of the tough questions.

He will hit Obama head on and I think that is what Democrats are most afraid of. If Romney is going to really pull this off, if he's going to sail into the nomination as the establishment would like to believe, he's going to have to get a lot tougher because this is only a glimpse of what he's going to face in 2012 if Romney would be the nominee.

MALVEAUX: Crystal, I've got to leave it there. I'm going to invite both of you back to continue this debate because I'm sure there are much more to get into here. Thank you both. Crystal and Jamal, have a great weekend.

Next, thousands of kids have been diagnosed with autism, but now there are some psychiatrists who want to change the definition.

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MALVEAUX: So the "New York Times" says that a panel of psychiatric experts is a new look at the definition of autism. That new definition could dramatically reduce the number of autism diagnosis. Elizabeth Cohen, she is here with the details. Why would they want to do this? Why would they want to change the definition of autism?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The definition of a disease like autism is not set in stone. It's not like a broken arm where you've been x-rayed and you see the break, and that's a broken arm.

In some ways it might always be changing and where the change might happen. On one end of the spectrum, you might have a child who rocks back and forth, doesn't respond to his own name, can't speak a word.

And on the other end, you have a child maybe sort of doesn't make eye contact too well. It sort of has behaviour that's not quite completely sociable as trouble with regular conversations, but functions perfectly well. Both of those children might be considered to have autism.

MALVEAUX: So how would parents react do you think to this change?

COHEN: You know, I think some parents where the child is more on the mild end of the spectrum, for example, has Asperger's syndrome, might not welcome this news because it might mean your child will get fewer services.

When your child's diagnosed with autism, certain services can kick in and I think those parents are going to worry that their child won't get services. It's not necessarily true that that would happen, but I think there -- that concerns.

MALVEAUX: If it is changed, what do we think will happen?

COHEN: What I think could happen and this would happen for like a year or even more. Let's say about 12 percent of the kids who currently have a diagnosis of autism would no longer be considered to have that diagnosis. Hopefully, they would get have that autism diagnosis any more.

MALVEAUX: All right, Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Today's talk back question, Newt Gingrich's failed marriages, are they fair game? If Gingrich didn't want this to be part of the record, he should have lived his life differently. He chose the political spotlight, which will expose the skeletons in the closet. More of your responses up ahead.

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MALVEAUX: Here's some free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Jack Otter is the executive editor of cbsmoneywatch.com, Donna Rosato is a senior editor at "Money" magazine.

Guys, thank you both for being here. I appreciate it.

Jack, first question for you, comes from Darcy in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Darcie wrote, "what's an appropriate percentage of annual family income to spend on a vacation?" That's a good question.

JACK OTTER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CBSMONEYWATCH.COM: It is. Absolutely. But I think Darcie needs to ask a different question first. And that is, she needs to do just a little bit of budgeting. She's got to ask herself, what are the absolute necessities in my financial life? Rent, mortgage. A car if she needs one. Utilities. Retirement savings. The emergency fund. Add that all up. Subtract that from your monthly income. What you have left is where you can get your wants in. Whether it's a kitchen renovation or that vacation or a flat screen TV. And you have to just parcel that money according to your priorities.

Now, one thing I will say is, behavioral economists say we're actually happier when we buy experiences rather than objects.

HARLOW: Uh-huh.

OTTER: So I would say make that vacation a high priority, but put it below the needs.

HARLOW: Right. And don't buy a lot of stuff while you're there.

OTTER: Exactly.

HARLOW: Donna, your question comes from Kawia (ph) in Antioch, California. Kawia writes, "I'm 23 years old and have my identity stolen. How long will it take to rebuild my credit?

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": You know, we all know that identity theft can really do a lot of damage to your credit score. But it doesn't have to. The key is to act fast and you'll recover faster and to document everything.

So, she probably contacted the -- her bank or credit card holder and reported it on the phone. You want to get a letter on file with your credit card company and your bank saying that you've been a victim of a identity theft. File the same letters with the three credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian. And then you want to also file a police report. You want to have as much documentation as possible.

And then if you have that, it really shouldn't damage your score. Then you want to regularly check your credit history and you want to regularly check your credit score to make sure that these do not come up again. And, of course, you want to keep good credit habits. Pay your bills on time and all that kind of stuff. But it actually is more time consuming to do something like that, but well worth it.

HARLOW: Yes, absolutely, when it comes to your credit score. Thank you guys so much.

And if you've got a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

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MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question. Carol Costello with your responses.

Carol, I understand you got a tremendous number of people who weighed in on this issue today?

COSTELLO: It was an avalanche and I appreciate it. Thank you.

So the "Talk Back" question today, are Gingrich's failed marriages fair game?

This from Donna. "If he can be unfaithful to his wife, he will be unfaithful to the American people."

This from Rick. "I can't believe that people think character shouldn't be a part of political debate. That's nonsense. That's like saying we should overlook O.J.'s character if he was running for office as long as he spouts out what we want to hear."

This from Debbie. "I for one will not judge Newt based on his transgressions within his personal life. I will judge each man based on his plans, ability to put forth those plans and the ability to oust Obama in 2012. By the way, I have yet to find the story of a happy ex. So, let us keep in mind that there are two sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in between."

This from Gary. "Employers will now check your social media if you're applying for a $30,000 a year job. Why shouldn't Gingrich's moral character be fair game when he's applying to be president?"

And this from Linda. "He's not asking us to marry him or sleep with him, he's asking us to let him fix our country that is on the brink of disaster."

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your responses.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.

She's the first openly gay woman to ever compete in the Miss California Beauty Pageant. We'll now hear her talk about why she entered the competition.

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MALVEAUX: Mollie Thomas is the first openly gay woman to ever compete for the Miss California Beauty Pageant. Kareen Wynter talked to her about what motivated her to enter the competition.

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KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who can forget Sandra Bullock's physical transformation in "Miss Congeniality," playing an undercover FBI agent posing as a beauty queen and experiencing all that goes along with it. Real-life beauty pageant contestant Mollie Thomas can definitely relate.

MOLLIE THOMAS, GAY BEAUTY PAGEANT CONTESTANT: I just learned how to put on two pairs of false eyelashes.

WYNTER: In just three months, Mollie polished her look, studied up on pageants and joined the race for Miss California USA. And along with 26-year-old Janelle Hutcherson became the first openly gay women to compete in the 60 year history of the contest.

THOMAS: I wanted to put out a real person that someone could really say, I can relate to this girl.

WYNTER: Mollie's on a mission to disprove painful stereotypes out there about gay women, like we saw in "Miss Congeniality" when Sandra Bullock's pre-makeover looks and traits led to this question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "MISS CONGENIALITY": Honey.

SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS, "MISS CONGENIALITY": Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a lesbian?

THOMAS: So many people have this image of what a lesbian is. And if you don't fit that, you can't possibly be gay. I grew up with the comment of, you're too pretty to be gay. There's no -- there is no such thing as too pretty to be gay.

WYNTER: So not for the cash or the crown, but to make her point. The 19-year-old student ran openly gay in her first ever beauty pageant.

THOMAS: It's never been done before and anything knew is always scary.

WYNTER: And Mollie tells "Showbiz Tonight" the risk was worth it. THOMAS: I had my phone out all weekend because it was going nonstop and just interviews and press and media.

WYNTER (on camera): Mollie just hopes her story inspires other to be themselves. And she admires women who are openly gay in the prime of their career. Women like movie star Amber Heard.

AMBER HEARD, ACTRESS: I'm from Connecticut. My boyfriend's (INAUDIBLE).

WYNTER (voice-over): Heard, who co-starred with Johnny Depp in the "Rum Diary," is an inspiration to Mollie. The actress who was also named the face of Guess' fall fashion campaign went public with her sexual orientation in 2010. She later told the gay pop cultural website, After Ellen, "if you hide something, you're inadvertently admitting it's wrong. I don't feel like I'm wrong. I don't feel like millions of people are wrong because they love who they love or they were born how they were born."

Mollie says she's not interested in hiding either and the Miss Universe Organization, which running the Miss USA Pageant, was happy to have her center stage telling "Showbiz Tonight," "the Miss Universe Organization embraces diversity and we look forward to the day when a woman's sexual orientation, religion or race is no longer newsworthy."

THOMAS: So I just finished my first pageant.

WYNTER: So, while Mollie didn't win the title of Miss California USA her first go-around, she tells "Showbiz Tonight" that she's going to run again next year.

THOMAS: I'm honored to be in the position that I am and to be able to speak up for what I really believe in.

WYNTER: Where she'll continue to wear a sash to make a statement.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

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MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.

Hey, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne. Happy Friday.