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Countdown to Iowa Caucuses; Rick Santorum Tries to Keep Momentum; Iowa's Record of Picking Presidents; Massive Manhunt Under Way After Park Ranger Shot; Police Question Suspect in Seattle Shooting; Newt Gingrich Gives Press Conference; Where the GOP Candidates Stand on Economy, Taxes; L.A. Police May Have Break in Arsons
Aired January 02, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
I want to get you up to speed for this Monday, January 2nd.
We're into the final countdown. With the Iowa caucuses just a day away, the candidates are taking aim at each other while trying to rally their supporters.
Rick Santorum holding a meet and greet with supporters right now. We're watching that closely. He's gone from back of the pack to running now third in most polls. Now, some surveys show him ahead of Newt Gingrich.
Both Gingrich and front-runner Mitt Romney had campaign stops in Iowa. That happened earlier today. Both focusing on their attacks on President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember when he said if we let him borrow $787 billion, almost a trillion dollars, that he would hold unemployment below 8 percent?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, the Obama cookbook is the exact opposite. Is it higher taxes, more regulations, anti- American energy, and class warfare to attack the people who create jobs. I tell people it's as though the Obama cookbook says to get a hard egg, you put it in the freezer. Now, it's true that if you put an egg in the freezer long enough, it will get hard, but it's not exactly what you thought you ordered at the restaurant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: California police are questioning a man in an arson spree. Overnight, there were reports of almost a dozen different car fires in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. Now, that makes at least 55 suspicious fires around Los Angeles since Friday.
We're going to get an update from the fire commander center in just minutes.
Also, everyone visiting Mount Rainier National Park has been cleared out as police fan out to find a killer. Investigators want to question the man in the shooting death of park ranger Margaret Anderson. Now, they say they believe that man, Benjamin Barnes, is heavily armed, wearing body armor, and has experience surviving in deep woods and snow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED TROYER, PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: We know at the minimum he's got an assault rifle. He's already shot some people at a party earlier. He's killed a law enforcement officer and he's out there armed. So we're doing what we can to catch him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: An active duty soldier is now charged with trying to bring explosives on board a plane in Texas. Now TSA agents say they spotted the military-grade explosive in Trey Atwater's carry-on during an x- ray screening at Midland International Airport. Investigators say there was no way to detonate that device. They are downplaying it, saying there was nothing nefarious.
Well, opposition activists in Syria say that government forces killed at least 10 more people. What are we watching here? This is the funeral of a child who was allegedly killed while riding in his parents' car.
An Arab League adviser is calling for the immediate withdrawal of monitors from Syria. The adviser says that observers are failing to prevent government troops from killing civilians, but an Arab League officials says the monitors are going to remain and more are on the way.
Well, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is back in court this morning. The 83-year-old was wheeled in on a gurney. He is said to have cancer and heart problems.
Now, Mubarak is charged with ordering the killing of hundreds of protesters during last year's uprising that ended his 30-year rule. He also faces corruption charges.
All right. So we're talking about just a day until the Iowa caucuses. Republican presidential candidates, they are running hard, making their final push for votes. Three of those candidates have campaign events over the next two hours. We're going to be following all of that closely.
Rick Santorum's meet and greet just under way. It is in Polk City, Iowa. We're keeping an eye on that.
Next hour, 12:15 Eastern, Ron Paul campaigns with his son, Rand Paul, in Des Moines. And 12:50 Eastern, Mitt Romney holding a rally with supporters in Dubuque.
We're going to bring you the highlights live from the campaign trail.
And political insiders in Iowa, they think Mitt Romney is going to come out on top in tomorrow's caucuses. Now, CNN surveyed 64 political pros from state local lawmakers, party officials, a variety of other Republican activists. And what do they say? Almost two- thirds say they think Romney is going to win. Seventeen percent predict Ron Paul is going to be the winner. None of them, interesting enough, picked Rick Santorum, despite his recent surge in the polls.
Want to go live to Iowa. Candidates are making the final push for these votes.
Paul Steinhauser in the middle of all of the action from Des Moines.
Paul, this is it. I mean, this is countdown time. And you've got these guys just crisscrossing the state, counting the hours. What's the strategy here?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: This is it.
And Suzanne, it's finally feeling like winter here in Iowa, by the way. We finally got back to subfreezing temperatures.
But yes, what are the final closing arguments? We've heard some already on CNN this morning.
We heard Mitt Romney in Davenport, Iowa, about an hour and a half ago. And, well, he was talking about some of the other rivals for the GOP nomination.
He was really going after President Obama as well. And that has been a strategy of all these candidates.
We heard the same message from Newt Gingrich an hour ago, in Independence, Iowa, where he was saying the president wants to run the country without even dealing with Congress. And that's a message we've been hearing from him and all the other candidates. Remember, they may be battling each other right now, but they want to take President Barack Obama out in the election in November.
Rick Santorum, you just mentioned him. He's in Polk City right around now with his first event of the day.
You know, Santorum, as you mentioned, has been rising in the polls, but he's trying to tell voters that, listen, I can not only win the nomination, I can beat President Obama come November. One thing about Santorum, he's raising a lot of money. His campaign tells us he's raised more in the last week than he did in the whole six months before that now, as he jumps in the polls, Suzanne.
So these are some of the closing arguments, I guess you could say, with one day to go until the caucuses here in Iowa.
MALVEAUX: You know, covering those caucuses, it's funny, Paul, because a lot of people say they're still undecided, which is kind of hard to believe. They've heard from these candidates, some numerous times here.
Is there any buzz that you're hearing about who they think is going to be on top?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. And it's interesting.
I've been getting out of the city of Des Moines, which is more Democratic, and getting out to the suburbs to try to talk to some voters in coffee shops when I can. And what they're telling me is pretty much what the polls are indicating, that they like this candidate or that candidate, but they could change their minds.
And that "Des Moines Register" poll that came out yesterday indicated the same thing. Four out of 10 say they could change their minds.
But one other thing I'm hearing from Iowa Republicans, and I guess this is true of Republicans across the country, they want the candidate who can win in November. That is the most important thing to them. They want to get President Barack Obama out of the White House. That's what they're telling us -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Paul. And I don't think a couple degrees below zero is all that bad. We had 20 degrees below zero when we were out there four years ago. Thanks.
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. I remember.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Some cold stuff there.
I want to go -- let's listen to Rick Santorum. He's speaking in Polk City, Iowa. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- I'm not saying we should change that. Senators should be elected directly. But it did change the dynamics in Washington.
And when that happened, they changed the rules of the Senate. Once senators came in, they changed the rules of the Senate which allowed for unlimited debate and allowed for something called cloture. So there couldn't be unlimited debate.
Those two things allowed bills to pass easier in the United States Senate. And as a result of that, government grew.
And what we need to do is now put not restraints on people to directly elect their senators, or for the Senate to necessarily change the rules so things can pass, but we need to put a constitutional constraint on the size of government. And that's what the balanced budget amendment will do. In a sense, restore the limited government that our founders intended to secure with the United States Senate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a question? SANTORUM: Yes, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you propose to deal with partisan politics in Washington?
SANTORUM: I would make the argument that the president has made partisan politics more partisan than any president. Well, I would say any president in my lifetime.
This president has been the most partisan president. I say that, and I served under Bill Clinton. And Bill Clinton was a tough customer, but he didn't routinely go out and demonize anybody that opposed him. He didn't go out and routinely, by name, hammer people and ascribe things and feelings to them and positions to them that they don't hold.
This president routinely does that. He routinely divides this country. He poisons the well routinely in Washington, all because he thinks it's to his political advantage. He blames everybody but himself for any problem that occurs under his watch.
I have said, and I'll repeat it, and I'll be happy to do it, I hope never, after I am president of the United States, to mention the name "Barack Obama" for any of the problems --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
SANTORUM: -- for any of the problems this country has. When you raise your hand and take the oath of office, all of the problems and all of the great opportunities of America come under your watch.
And the idea of continuing to look back and blame everybody else for your problem is beneath the dignity of the president of the United States. I won't do it, and this president shouldn't do it.
(APPLAUSE)
SANTORUM: If you want to change the attitude in Washington, start showing respect, even though you may disagree.
I've been criticized by my opponents because I went out and ran campaign commercials when I was running last time saying I was able to work with Democrats to get things done. And they said, he's a squish.
Look at the bills I worked on. Yes, I worked with Barbara Boxer. I worked with Barbara Boxer? Yes, I did.
Barbara Boxer and I were the co-authors of the Iran Freedom and Support Act to put sanctions on Iran and to help fund their pro- democracy program to stop their nuclear program. We were cosponsors of the Syrian Accountability Act to get Syria out of Lebanon and stop influencing Hezbollah and threatening northern Israel. Why did I go -- because they were my bills. Why did I go to Barbara Boxer? Well, it was a pretty easy thing.
If Rick Santorum and Barbara Boxer are on a bill, everybody can vote for it. Right? If you can get people on both ends of -- a conservative and a liberal to share a common point of view that is consistent with my values, then why not do so and try to get bipartisan support?
This president goes out of his way to skewer people who disagree with him personally. Barbara Boxer and I had some of the biggest battles on the floor of the Senate that have been in place for the last 20 years. But on areas we agreed I never made the battles personal.
I never -- you can't make them personal. That destroys the whole concept of people working together, because then you find when it's a personal battle, then people don't trust you to work with them honestly on things that you agree with. And that's what the president has done to poison the well. I'll change that attitude in Washington.
Yes, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I'm one of those people in Iowa that's sitting right on the edge trying to make up my mind --
SANTORUM: Come on over. Come on.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the mayor of Polk City.
SANTORUM: Mr. Mayor, please. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- who I'm going to support. And I like what you've got to say.
SANTORUM: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I also know that Obama's pockets are really deep when it comes to finances. Hopefully you have those finances to carry on after you win tomorrow night and you go off to New Hampshire.
SANTORUM: I like what you're saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully you've got the finances and the support out there to carry your campaign forward.
SANTORUM: I would just say this -- we've raised more money in the last few days than we have in the last few months. Going from zero to 60 in the polls, if you will, will help those resources a lot.
I think you've seen other candidates who have had the opportunity to get a little national attention, that resources have followed. And I'll just say that when I ran my last campaign, I think we raised roughly $30 million for a Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. And candidly, we were never closer than 10 points in any of the polls at any point in time.
So folks were giving us money because they believed in us. And I think that kind of conviction politician is what voters have been sitting and waiting for. And I'm hopeful that the folks of Iowa will do what I have been planning for and hoping for, which is to raise us up there and say, take a look at this guy. And hopefully the mayor of Polk City will come out and say, hey, take a look at this guy, Rick Santorum, and that he'll be for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he just did.
(LAUGHTER)
SANTORUM: All right there. We got the mayor of Polk City.
Thank you, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
SANTORUM: Hold on.
Constituents -- yes, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to encourage you.
SANTORUM: You didn't have that constituent accent. No offense. I have got a little bit of an Iowa ear now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm one of those 49 percent that hasn't made up my mind. I'm closer today in making up my mind. And I want to encourage you to get out there and give them your best.
SANTORUM: Don't worry, sir. I mean, I've gotten a lot of encouragement from the people of Iowa who have been saying, "If you don't do well, keep running. We really need your voice out there."
And what I kept saying is, "Well, darn it, answer "yes" for me when they call you on the poll, because I know they're calling you." And so obviously that started to happen. And I'm very encouraged by that. And I think we have the momentum here.
I don't know what we're going to finish. But it was really funny. David Gregory, yesterday on "Meet the Press," was saying, "Now, do you have to finish first?" I said, "Two weeks ago your reporter was asking me if I'm getting out of the race. And now, all of a sudden, you're saying I've got to finish first." This is the craziness of the media.
And look, the people of Iowa are going to decide. If they put us out there in one of the tickets punched out of Iowa, that's going to give us a chance. And obviously the better we can do, the better for us. And we certainly appreciate all the help and support.
Anybody else?
Yes, sir, in the back, way in the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, I am also one of the undecideds, but moving very much closer to a decision. Two very quick questions for you if I may.
One, if elected, what would be your first executive order? And two, would you support term limits for members of Congress?
SANTORUM: I have supported term limits in the past. I've got to tell you, I mean, I think from my perspective, there are more urgent priorities for us to do with respect to a constitutional amendment. And it would take a constitutional amendment.
And I think a balanced budget amendment -- if I'm going to focus my attention on something that will control federal spending and get Washington under control, I think the principal one would not be term limits. There are term limits in a lot of states and you haven't seen a whole lot of change in the size and scale of government in those states that have term limits.
What I did when I was in the United States Senate was vote for term limits, which I did, but I also, when we failed, went back to the Republican caucus where I actually could do something and worked with Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona, and we instituted term limits on committee chairmen and leadership in the United States Senate Republican Caucus.
That's something we could do without a vote in the Senate or without a constitutional amendment. And we were able to pass that in spite of the fact a lot of folks -- certainly a lot of folks were opposed to it.
So I not only have said that I would support term limits, but I've actually done something that's moved the needle.
And your other question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First executive order?
SANTORUM: First executive order. Well, I've put out a whole bunch of ideas on executive orders, so I don't know if I would say what first is. But, look, to me one of the foundational principles of our country is the first of the inalienable rights. And that's the right to life. And I would make sure that we are not spending federal funds on abortion. That would be number one.
(APPLAUSE)
SANTORUM: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think one of the things affecting our state (INAUDIBLE). And it seems like there's so many simple fixes for companies to hire. Do you have an aggressive short-term or long-term plan to create jobs in the first year?
SANTORUM: I have short-term and long-term plans. The short-term plans all focus on what we can do to reduce the regulatory burden, to get the tax burden down, and to incentivize with supply side economics the growth of the American economy. I talk about everything from the regulatory climate in this country -- in the last two administrations, they averaged -- Clinton and Bush averaged roughly 60 regulations per year. Now, you know, government promulgates thousands of regulations, but 60 per year that cost business over $100 million a year, the big ones, the ones that really hurt and really crush business.
This administration was working on about 150 last year. I think they were approaching 150 regulations. An historic high.
People are saying, well, what's hurting this economy? This president and his top-down, I know best, I'm going to tell you how to run your business, how to run your farm, how to run your life, the huge cost that that's putting on the American public and on business is crushing this economy.
And so one of the principal things I will do is when I come into the presidency -- this isn't an executive order, but it's better, and that is that we will repeal or replace every single one of those regulations that Barack Obama's put in place, ones that we can repeal, or the ones that he just put in last month, which will shut down 60 coal-fired power plants in America because of an absolutely ridiculous cost-benefit analysis done by the EPA under his administration that is not based on any kind of science, it's based on, we hate carbon, we hate fossil fuels, we hate blue collar Americans who work in those areas. And we're going to make them dependent upon government instead of working to build pipelines and dig coal and drill for oil and gas.
And so that regulation will be repealed and not replaced. A whole bunch of others will be repealed and replaced with less costly alternatives, still accomplishing the purpose, but making sure we do so, so we can build our economy and grow jobs here in America.
(END LIVE SPEECH)
MALVEAUX: Rick Santorum out of Polk City, Iowa.
He says he's no squish. We're going to ask our own John Avlon exactly what that means.
Gingrich just rapped up an event in Independence, Iowa. We're expecting him to go before the microphones and speak to reporters.
Keeping an eye on all candidates as they are crisscrossing the state of Iowa.
And tomorrow night, watch what happens in the Iowa caucuses from all sides, special live "America's Choice 2012" coverage on CNN beginning tomorrow night, 7:00 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. So the candidates, they've got a lot of work to do the coming years. So we thought we'd bring in 2012, a list of suggested resolutions.
On my list, getting to our morning meeting on time. I'm going to work on that.
It brings us to today's "Talk Back" segment. If you could pick a resolution for one of the presidential candidates, what would it be? Just name the candidate. Tell us what you think their resolution should be this year.
Post your responses on my Facebook page at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. We're going to air some of your thoughts later in the hour.
All right. So it is down to the wire, just one day left until the Iowa caucuses. Republican candidates are scrambling trying to get their messages out. They're fanning out across the state this morning. It is a last push, the nation's first contest in the presidential race.
Our Jessica Yellin takes a look at what is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iowa, a win can thrust a candidate into the national spotlight --
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-ILL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Iowa!
YELLIN: -- while a loss can kill a campaign's momentum. Just ask Phil Gramm --
PHIL GRAMM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to congratulate the other candidates.
YELLIN: -- or Howard Dean.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And then we're going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yes!
YELLIN: But in terms of picking a winner, whether it's the president or a party's nominee, the record for the Iowa caucuses is mixed.
On the Republican side, Ronald Reagan lost here in 1980. So did George H. W. Bush in 1988. Eventual Republican nominee Bob Dole in 1996 and President George W. Bush in 2000 both claimed victories in the state. You may remember just eight years later, Mike Huckabee won the caucuses.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love Iowa a whole lot.
YELLIN: But John McCain went on to become the GOP nominee.
For the Democrats, the original Iowa upset went to Jimmy Carter in 1976 when the little known Georgia governor made a surprisingly strong finish here, launching his political rise to the White House.
JIMMY CARTER (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to reorganize completely the executive branch of government.
YELLIN: In 1984, Walter Mondale went from Iowa caucus winner to Democratic party nominee. In 1988, Iowa Democrats chose Dick Gephardt over eventual nominee Michael Dukakis. And four years later, Bill Clinton was humbled with less than 3 percent of the caucus vote. Native son senator Tom Harkin won that year.
Democratic nominee John Kerry won the caucuses in 2004.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Iowa, for making me the comeback Kerry.
YELLIN: And more recently, Senator Barack Obama staged a caucus upset that catapulted him to the front of the pack. Recall that Senator Hillary Clinton was considered all but a shoo-in until then.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi, this is Michele Bachmann calling.
YELLIN: What the Iowa caucuses are good at is winnowing down the field. The old saying is there are only three tickets out of Iowa.
GOV. TERRY BRANSTAD (R), IOWA: This is who comes in second, and who comes in third, as well as who comes in first. And if somebody else does surprisingly it could well launch their campaign. It's happened before.
YELLIN: Political upstarts have a chance here, because caucus goers really do, as they say, kick the tires.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: What I want to know is if you get a Republican House and a Republican Senate, in two years will you fulfill all those promises?
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The answer is yes.
YELLIN: And Iowans take this work seriously, which is why the media and the country follows what happens here so closely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: CNN contributor John Avlon joining us to talk about the latest leg in Iowa.
Good to see you in person.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you in person.
MALVEAUX: Sorry about all the clutter here.
AVLON: No, I'm digging it. That's the way the work goes down.
MALVEAUX: All right. So, I teased this, so I have to ask you the question. Rick Santorum says he's no squish. What's a squish?
AVLON: A "squish" is a term that folks on the far right use to describe someone they think is too centrist. It's actually got a fascinating history going back to, like, 1952, when Robert Taft and Ike were fighting for the nomination. Eisenhower was called the "candidate of effeminates."
It's a way of saying, look, if you walk in lockstep with your party and ideology 100 percent, you're somehow more masculine than the folks who fight in the center. So it's actually a very kind of inside baseball term.
But he's trying to say, look, I worked with Barbara Boxer, that's true, but that just shows I can work across the aisle. I'm no squish.
MALVEAUX: OK. So now we know what a squish is.
AVLON: There you go.
MALVEAUX: All right.
AVLON: Not my favorite time.
MALVEAUX: You know, before, this was a two-man race between Romney and Gingrich. And now we do see Santorum in some ways making some headway.
What needs to happen tomorrow night for somebody to get out in front?
AVLON: Well, look, the stereotype is it's the top three. It doesn't always bear out that way. Fred Thompson came in third in 2008. But it also is an expectations game.
Right now, Mitt Romney is in poll position. If he, for some reason, doesn't end up on top, that'll get read as a loss.
And if Newt Gingrich for some reason outperforms -- right now he's been making the case, look, a vote for me is a vote to reject the negative ads that I've been attacked with. That's an interesting appeal.
But all signs show that Santorum at the moment seems to have the big momentum behind him. He's trying to coalesce social conservatives around the his candidacy.
And then, of course, there's Ron Paul, the real wildcard. You know his supporters are going to turn up. They're not going to turn back. They're going to vote for their guy.
And so that's really the fault lines. But this is a horse race. This is going to be a photo finish. This is exciting stuff.
MALVEAUX: So, Santorum, he said some things in the past. Last go- around he actually endorsed Mitt Romney.
I want you to take a listen real quick to how he's explaining this now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: My focus in the 2008 election was on making sure that we had someone other than John McCain. That is what I was publicly stating because I thought he would not be a strong candidate for us in the general election. I didn't think he'd be the best candidate for us to do the things that were necessary for this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So how does he do this? How does he kind of walk that fine line when he says this guy is fit to be president?
AVLON: Well, it pulls the curtain back on a lot of the strangeness in this presidential cycle.
Remember, last time, Mitt Romney was seen as the social conservative candidate who was going to stand in the way. The former governor of Massachusetts was going to stand in the way of that center-right candidate, John McCain, from getting the nomination. And a lot of folks flocked to that message. There was Mike Huckabee and there was Mitt Romney.
Right now Romney is considered the center-right candidate because of his record. And so Santorum is saying, look, I've got a more consistent record.
On social conservative issues, Santorum has constantly held that banner in the Senate. I mean, it's kind of amazing to hear him criticize the president for being too partisan given Rick Santorum's record on social issues, in particular he has been stalwart far right on choice, on gay rights, et cetera, et cetera.
MALVEAUX: And Mitt Romney, you write about the fact that he has what you call a humor problem. He's trying to fix that. He said something recently. I want our viewers to listen in on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: The gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I've seen -- well, since the Kardashian wedding and the promise of "until death do we part."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Really?
AVLON: Yes, really.
MALVEAUX: I mean, really? Now he's using the Kardashians to kind of seem a little bit hip or something? Is that going to work?
AVLON: I'm willing to bet a lot of money that Mitt Romney didn't watch the Kardashian wedding. But he does take the marital oath very seriously.
The Kardashian reference for Mitt Romney, I'm not buying it. I think the Laurel and Hardy, Lucille Ball references ring a little more true.
MALVEAUX: I think so too. That sounds right. All right. Thank you, John. So good to see you in person.
AVLON: Great to see you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Well, almost a dozen fires set overnight in California, dozens of others started just in the past couple of days. Who is behind the L.A. arson spree? We're going to get the latest from the fire department command center.
Plus, get into the mind of an arsonist.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Police in Los Angeles may have a break as they scramble to catch a suspected arsonist. Almost a dozen fires broke out overnight. More than 40 others burned in the past couple of days. Most all of them started in cars, and some spread to buildings. Right now police are questioning a man they detained earlier today.
Our Casey Wian is at the fire command center in Hollywood.
Casey, tell us about today. I understand things were relatively quiet when you showed up this morning. Got pretty intense pretty quickly.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Suzanne. We got here about 1:00 local time in the morning. We spoke to an arson investigator. He said it was all quiet, which was a contrast to the more recent nights where they've had several of these suspected arson fires. But right after he said that, during about a two-hour period, there were nearly a dozen fires set near here, all of them in cars. Some of them spread to structures.
We were listening to the radio traffic that was going out, and it was just incredible seeing these fire engines going out of here, the arson investigators going out. At one point, there weren't enough arson investigators for the sites that they were handling all at one time.
Then what happened is we heard radio traffic from the fire department that they had taken a man into custody. We sent a crew to that location. We saw a person sitting in the back of a sheriff's department vehicle. All they would say is that man is being questioned. From the look we got at him, you could see that he is someone who resembled at least the surveillance video that was released over the weekend of a man leaving a parking structure, someone that police said they wanted to talk to.
He was taken into custody very near where the last of the fires were set overnight. And then we asked what inference we can draw from that to a Los Angeles city fire department official. The only thing he would say, without drawing a direct connection, was that there were no suspicious arson fires set in the next several hours after he was taken in for questioning -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Does that make the authorities believe that they've perhaps got the right guy and he was the one responsible for all of these?
WIAN: They're not saying that officially. That's the chatter we hear around the fire station. No one will say that officially or for the record. We are expecting an official briefing later today for more details.
One thing they do tell us is this investigation is absolutely continuing. They don't know for certain if they are -- there's just one person involved or perhaps others involved. They are continuing that investigation. And they're expecting to give us more details later today -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Casey.
We'll learn more about the investigation in less than two hours.
As Casey mentioned, that is when the mayor of Los Angeles, he's holding a news conference. Stay right here with an update from California.
And a massive manhunt is now right on, at Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State. Everybody visiting the park has now been cleared out. Manhunt on the way because of the shooting death of Park Ranger Margaret Anderson.
Police also want to question Benjamin Barns in connection with a shooting in suburban Seattle yesterday that left four people wounded. Police say this guy is heavily armed, wearing body armor, and has experience surviving in deep woods and snow.
Lee Taylor, a spokesperson for Mt. Rainier National Park, she is joining us by phone.
Do we believe that there is any idea where this guy might be?
LEE TAYLOR, SPOKESPERSON, MT. RAINIER NATIONAL PARK: Well, it's a big park. It's wilderness. So we don't know exactly where he is. We have been able to gather some clues from tracks he's left in the snow and have narrowed it down somewhat. We've got more than 200 people who will be searching on the ground and from the air to see if we can zero in on him and apprehend him.
MALVEAUX: Do you believe that he's alone or do you believe that there are other people working with him?
TAYLOR: Our assumption is that he's alone. He was alone when he shot and killed Ranger Anderson and fled into the woods, so our assumption is that he's on his own out there.
MALVEAUX: What kind of weapons do you think he has with him?
TAYLOR: I don't know specifically what types of weapons he might be carrying.
MALVEAUX: Do we believe that they're high-powered weapons or he is heavily armed? Do we know that? TAYLOR: Yes. He's clearly armed and dangerous. You know, it's difficult to search for a missing person in any case, but usually the people you're searching for want to be found. In this case, the officers who are searching for him are going after someone who does not want to be found and who is armed and certainly ready to shoot to kill. So it's a very challenging situation. The good news is that we've been able to evacuate the park of visitors. No member of the public remains at risk. Now we just hope to apprehend this guy without any further bloodshed today.
MALVEAUX: Do we know if he's targeting his alleged victims?
TAYLOR: We don't know. We don't know what set him off or why he went after our park ranger when they were simply trying to check his car to make sure that he was traveling with tire chains because of the snowy conditions.
MALVEAUX: Do we know if he has a previous record?
TAYLOR: Well, we're not even positive that the person that we're searching for is the suspect that we've been talking about. That's the most likely scenario. And if that's the case, then he certainly is a dangerous person.
MALVEAUX: So if this is possibly not the suspect that you're searching for, who is? Do we have any information about perhaps the other suspect, the other person?
TAYLOR: No. He is the person of interest in this investigation, most likely the person that we're after, and armed and dangerous.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: And, finally, Lee Taylor, those who have been removed from the park, you say they're safe. Are they able to go about and hike and do as they wish, or will they have to stay put for a while until this is resolved?
TAYLOR: Well, the park itself is closed so there's no public access to our Mt. Rainier National Park right now because this gunman is still unaccounted for in the woods somewhere. So people who want to do winter recreational activities have other places that they can go, but it wouldn't be safe to come to Mt. Rainier right now.
MALVEAUX: Lee, real quickly, if somebody sees this guy, what should they do?
TAYLOR: Well, I would say call 911 and report it. I wouldn't approach him under any circumstances.
MALVEAUX: Lee Taylor, thank you so much.
You've seen the attack ads. You've watched the mudslinging. Where do the candidates really stand on the issues that matter to all of us? We'll take a hard look at what the White House hopefuls want to do about your taxes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. We're following all things politics before the Iowa caucuses, hours away. We are now watching Newt Gingrich who has a live event in Independence, Iowa. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The positive campaign does resonate despite $3.5 million in negative ads by Romney. We are, in fact, beginning to bounce back. We will clearly do well enough. I don't think anybody else in this campaign could have taken the sheer volume of negative ads and still be in the race. So I'm very proud of the people of Iowa for seeing through the attacks and the negativity. I'm very proud of our campaign team for continuing to be positive, continuing to move forward. We will continue that process of offering very big solutions and defending the idea of very large solutions.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Where are you going to caucus tomorrow night? Where are you speaking?
GINGRICH: You're not part of the press.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
GINGRICH: They should know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: Thank you. I feel much better now answering a legitimate press person.
(LAUGHTER)
We're going to be Waterloo. They'll have all the precincts in one place. It should be huge. They think -- they may be optimistic. But they think it could be 5,000 or 6,000 people. It will be fun.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you saying you can't win?
GINGRICH: No. I don't think I'm going to win. I think you look at the numbers, I think that volume of negativity has done enough damage. On the other hand, if the "Des Moines Register" is right and it's 41 percent potentially, who knows what's going to happen. If the 41 percent has a conversation.
And caucuses aren't like primaries. People don't walk in, vote, walk out. You can really see a conversation underway. And you heard the farmers here today. I think we have an ethanol conversation underway. The corn growers -- I was the only candidate that the corn growers gave an "A" rating too. I think the message is getting out about my NRA support and the fact that I've been a lifetime legislative achievement, which undoes a whole -- there's been these weird negative ads and negative phone calls that are very often lies. There was one on gun control. It was just plain a lie. And we've gradually begun to undo that. We'll see in the next 24 hours. I think the next 24 hours are important because I think literally, up until the minute people walk in and start the conversation, this thing is open for continuous change.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 41 percent are most knowledgeable. There are some positives to that poll. How do you --
GINGRICH: That's right. I think it's very funny. People think I'd be the best debater against Obama. People think I'm the most knowledgeable. Many people think I would be the most effective president. But I'm carrying the weight of $3.5 million of negative ads. We're gradually wearing that out, which I think is a real tribute to people of Iowa. I'm clearly better today than I was 10 days ago.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Could you tell us in one sentence why you should win the Iowa caucuses?
GINGRICH: Sure. I should win the Iowa caucuses because I'm the only candidate who could successfully debate Obama in the fall. And I'm the only candidate with a track record, twice with Reagan and the speaker, of changing Washington. Everyone else would be an amateur in the Obama tradition who would know what they were doing or how to do it if they won.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Speaker, you've lived a good half of your life the last 12 years.
GINGRICH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)
GINGRICH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm wondering, do you want this job more than anything you've wanted in your life? Do you have the fire in your belly?
(LAUGHTER)
GINGRICH: How could you be here in January --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you want it more than anything?
GINGRICH: No, of course, I don't want it more than anything. I want to be with my wife and my children and grandchildren. Anything is a big term. As a citizen who believes this country is in deep trouble, I am prepared to serve as president. I am prepared to campaign endlessly from now until next November to defeat Obama. I believe, in fact, that I'm prepared to be president. And I believe I'm probably the only person who has the range of experience necessary to fundamentally get this country back on the right track. I regard it as a duty, not a pleasure. I regard it as an obligation, not an ambition. And I am prepared to do it. I will do it with everything I've got.
But it's not -- if you said to me, compared to things you have done in the last 12 years that are fun. This is exciting, it's interesting, fascinating, but it's not at the center of my being. It's at the center of my duty.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Gingrich, what is your best (INAUDIBLE).
GINGRICH: I have no idea. With 41 percent potentially unshifting, who knows? My view is -- you've heard me say this -- this is the first three minutes of the Super Bowl. I think it's been a good three minutes for us. I think we've begun to lay out the themes that will work. I think we've seen Romney do his most intense negative. And we now have time to think through how to respond.
I think we've seen that, in fact, positive messages work despite the barrage. And I think that I feel very confident about our ability over the next two or three months to allow the country to organize itself and say, OK, you have a conservative who knows what he's doing, who was with Reagan at a time when Romney was an Independent. You have a conservative who, in fact, was with George H.W. Bush at a time when Romney was a Democrat voting for (INAUDIBLE).
You have a conservative whose wrote the Contract of America at a time when Romney repudiated it. You have a conservative whose record of controlling government spending is dramatically better than Romney's. You have a conservative who vote against tax increases while Romney, as governor, raised taxes. You have a right-to-life candidate while Romney has state-paid, tax-paid abortions and put Planned Parenthood and Romney-care. That message is a very simple contrast. As that message sinks in, I think the natural weight of the Republican Party for every election since 1964 will sink in.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You have an idea of how you'd like to do tomorrow night?
GINGRICH: I'd like to do as best as I can do tomorrow night. Whatever I do tomorrow night will be a victory. Because I'm still standing. This is the second time in a year that -- the last time it was in the media by you guys, this time -- not you personally -- and this time it is paid media by Romney. Twice, people tried to drive me out of the race. I'm still here.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're taking a sharper tone today. (INAUDIBLE).
GINGRICH: Yes, the comments I heard this morning were outrageously unconstitutional. If these guys at the White House -- and I hope the White House press core will go ask them, are they serious about this? As I understand it, they said they were going to try to govern without the Congress for the next year? That is technically impossible. This is like a kindergarten play. You can't -- how are you going to pass appropriations bills? How are you going to deal with anything for 12 months? I just looked at the TV this morning and thought, these guys are just totally out of touch with reality.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Isn't part of that though on Speaker Boehner? You're blaming the Obama administration, but there are two people at play here. Isn't Speaker Boehner to blame?
GINGRICH: That's bizarre.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why?
GINGRICH: Speaker Boehner's a fact. He is a constitutional officer. Presidents don't get to choose that the Congress doesn't exist. Rick Perry as this idea it would be nice to have a part-time Congress. This is why I think this is bizarre. It's a sharp tone because, as a citizen, I am insulted that a president of the United States would think that he could pretend to govern for a year without the Congress. If he intends to try to do that, it would be totally unconstitutional, and I think would represent a fundamental breach in our system.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). What got done was a product of you making accomplishments and balance budgets. But now you're saying, when Obama's president, then you're happy --
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: No.
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: You just -- you heard me say a minute ago at the speech -- I assume you heard it. That, in fact, you had to have Bill Clinton sign it. You heard me say, with Tip O'Neill, as speaker, we had to get a third of the Democrats.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).
GINGRICH: Boehner hasn't said he's going to without the president. That's why I think this question is outrageous. Boehner has said nothing about trying to violate the Constitution. It is the president, who's behaving in an unconstitutional manner. if the White House means it, it is utterly outrageous. And I apologize to my deputy press secretary for not following his instructions as I should have.
Thank you all very, very much.
(APPLAUSE)
(END LIVE SPEECH)
MALVEAUX: You're listening to Newt Gingrich taking on the White House and president over their comments about using executive orders and trying to get things done without Congress the next year or so because of all the partisan gridlock. Newt Gingrich saying he's still standing, he's still here.
So there's the polls, the politicking. We want to put that aside for a minute. We take a look at where the candidates really stand on issues that matter to you most. So each day this week we are taking a look at one critical campaign issue. Today, of course, the economy, more specifically how this election could affect your taxes.
Let's start off with Newt Gingrich. He wants to create an optional flat tax of 15 percent. He also wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. He would drop the corporate tax rate to 12.5 percent. And under his plan, capital gains and inheritance taxes would be next.
Michele Bachmann, she wants to introduce a minimum income tax on all Americans. At the same time, she had pledged to reject new taxes and wants the corporate tax rate reduced to 20 percent.
Jon Huntsman says high earners should make sacrifices as well. He wants to eliminate loopholes and subsidies and create a three- bracket tax system.
Ron Paul wants to close down the IRS -- that's right -- and do away with the income tax entirely, calling it unconstitutional.
Rick Perry, big proponent of the flat tax. He wants to see everybody pay a flat tax of 20 percent. Same for the corporate tax rate. He wants eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits and long- term capital gains.
Mitt Romney wants to eliminate all taxes on capital gains. But Romney is against a so-called fair tax. He says it increases taxes on a middle class Americans.
Rick Santorum wants to cut the corporate income tax rate in half. He would eliminate it entirely for manufacturers.
Tune in tomorrow. We'll take a hard look at where the candidates stand on two more tough issues. We are talking about abortion and Iran.
Tomorrow night, the country's first vote, the candidates' first true test takes place in the Iowa caucuses. Watch what happens from all sides. Special live "America's Choice 2012" coverage of the Iowa caucuses, beginning tomorrow night, 7:00 eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: You've been responding to our "Talk Back" segment. Name a presidential candidate. Tell us what their resolution should be this year. Antonio says, "Since America is the land of second chance, Newt Gingrich's resolution should be to show more of the new Newt."
From Brennan, "Mitt Romney needs to write things down so he doesn't forge the things he's debating."
Molly says, "President Obama, pick Hillary as V.P."
And finally, Charles says, "Number one for all candidates: always tell the truth."
Keep your conversation going. You can leave your post on my Facebook, Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. We'll hear and air more of your thoughts next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: January 2nd, you might have some regrets about all the holiday spending you did.
Alison Kosik, here with today's top tips on getting a handle on your credit in 2012.
Alison, I think everybody did a little bit of spending this go around. Tough economics times but people were buying out there.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is something a lot of us can relate to. If you said "charge it" too often over the holidays and went on a spending binge, the reality will soon hit your mailbox. The bills will soon be coming in. So how do you tackle the debt? John Alzheimer (ph), of Smartcredit.com, says try to attack the balances as soon as possible. With the average interest rate on some retail credit cards close to 25 percent, every month you don't pay off your balance you are throwing away your money. He says pay off your retail cards first but don't neglect your other cards. You want to keep paying as much as you can on the others and definitely make the minimum payments because a later or missed payment will lead to big fees and can stay on your credit report for seven years -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: So 2012, don't open any more lines of credit, right. Especially if you're got big plans, right?
KOSIK: Right. You may be tempted to open other credit cards but you should really just say no. Every time you apply for a credit card, retail or otherwise, a credit inquiry is generated. And Alzheimer (ph) says those inquiries are the worst type for your credit scores and can lower your score dozens of points in some instances. Also, new credit inquiries mean a consumer is seeking credit which, in and of itself, indicates an elevated credit risk. You want to keep your credit in tip-top shape for the next 12 months if you're looking to refinance a home, buy a car or finance a big purchase. So the lower your credit score, the higher the interest rate you're going to pay on that debt -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alison. Thank you very much. Good tips for 2012.
