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Gingrich Holds Rally In Pensacola; Countdown To Tuesday's Florida Primary; Herman Cain Endorses Gingrich; Santorum Cancels Florida Events; Searching For Nukes, Dialogue In Iran; Panetta Airs Suspicions On Pakistan; U.N. May Seek Ouster Of Syrian President; Obama Hosts Google Town Hall; Tea Party Group Won't Endorse Candidate; Police Arrest About 400 In Oakland; Florida Smoke Advisory Lifted; Source: Aid Worker Heading Home; RNC Chair Compares Obama With Ship Captain

Aired January 30, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. Thanks so much for joining us.

We begin with presidential politics and the candidates racking up the miles before tomorrow's Republican primary in Florida. At any moment, Newt Gingrich is expected to step front and center at this rally in Pensacola.

Just a couple hours ago, he was at the other end of North Florida. He started his day pumping up supporters in Jacksonville, but Gingrich appears to have a lot of catching up to do.

A fourth straight poll shows him trailing Mitt Romney by double digits. Just a couple hours ago, Quinnipiac University released this survey.

It shows Romney with 43 percent support compared to Gingrich's 29 percent. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum way behind. So with time running out, Gingrich is sharpening his attacks hoping to weaken Romney before he could lock down another victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just think it will be very, very clear and increasingly clear over the next few weeks that this party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase. Look, it's not going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN political director, Mark Preston joining us here in Atlanta. You know, it's obviously Gingrich stepping up his attacks. What do you make of the polls? Where it stands now, Florida at stake?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, a week ago, it was all about Newt Gingrich. Wasn't it, Kyra? He'd come out of South Carolina with such momentum.

But we've seen that flip around in part because of strong performances by Mitt Romney in the two presidential debates last week. What we're seeing on the campaign trail just in the past few days is really a scorched earth policy from Newt Gingrich.

Really going right after Mitt Romney, calling him a liar, calling him liberal, saying that he's pro-abortion, anti-gun rights, but in turn we're seeing the same thing from Mitt Romney about Newt Gingrich calling his leadership into question. So it is getting really nasty out there.

PHILLIPS: Now, Herman Cain, we tried so hard to push him to see who he was going to endorse. He came out over the weekend saying he's endorsing Gingrich, but bottom line, how much does it really matter?

PRESTON: It doesn't matter at all. And here's the reason, you know, had he come out right after he decided to get out of the race and endorsed, it would have caused a headline.

But at this point, a lot of people are saying, who's Herman Cain, in the same way, where is Rick Perry, who is Michele Bachmann? These were all folks that once had their time in the spotlight. Spotlight's no longer on them.

PHILLIPS: And you know, Mitt Romney, definitely his debate skills have changed dramatically in the past one.

PRESTON: Yes, and you know what it is? It comes down to this, he's being very forceful. He's being very sharp and his answers are not dragging on.

He is going right at Mr. Gingrich with facts and we saw that in our CNN debate on Thursday night. Whenever Newt Gingrich would lob something at Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney would hit it right back to him and in some ways Newt Gingrich was unprepared for that.

PHILLIPS: Threw him through a loop.

PRESTON: Threw for a loop and I think that's why Newt Gingrich, you know, some would say lost that debate decisively.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Mark.

All right, let's check in on the campaign trail now. Gingrich holds his rally in Pensacola. Romney is heading for another afternoon event. He is showing no signs of coasting as the frontrunner, though.

He too is ramping up his attacks as we talked about there with mark. Let's go to political editor, Paul Steinhauser. He's in Tampa. So, Paul, Romney had some pretty tough words for Gingrich earlier today in Jacksonville. Tell us about that.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, he sure did. Kyra, you and Mark were just talking about. This is a very different Mitt Romney than what we saw in South Carolina. He's playing offense now.

You know, he used to always go after President Barack Obama, of course, but now he's really saving a lot of his fire for Newt Gingrich and, especially about those debate performances. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said after the first debate that he didn't do well because the crowd was so quiet, it threw him off. The second debate, he said he didn't do well because the crowd was so loud.

So I think -- I think the real reason he hasn't done so well connecting with the people of Florida is that people actually saw him in those debates and listened to his background, his experience.

And they learned, for instance, that he was paid $1.6 million to be a lobbyist for Freddie Mac and they said, that's not what we want in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Kyra, we're here in Tampa. Right behind me is the Tampa Convention Center, that's where Romney's going to have his HQ. What he hopes will be a big victory celebration tomorrow night -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Rick Santorum canceling his campaign events in Florida. Not quite sure what the status is of his daughter at this point. Paul, what do you know?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, yes, his daughter was rushed to the hospital in Philadelphia over the weekend. If you're not familiar, Bella's 3 years old. She suffers from a rare, but very serious chromosomal disorder called "Trisomy 18."

So Santorum, of course, listen, you're a parent before a candidate, no doubt about that. That's why he was down this weekend. But he did have a conference call with supporters, and here's what he said last night about his daughter's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is on the mend and really miraculously on the mend. She went through a very, very tough time the last 48 hours, and this afternoon, she made really a remarkable turn. And I'm just feeling so blessed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Now, the campaign says Santorum is going to be back on the campaign trail today, Kyra, but not here in Florida, Missouri, then Minnesota today, tomorrow Colorado and Nevada.

And Ron Paul also not on the campaign trail here today. Tomorrow, he's going to be in Colorado and Nevada. So what's going on? Why are these two gentlemen not here in Florida?

Well, listen, it's winner take all here. All 50 delegates are up for grabs, but you have to win. They know they're not going to win here. They're not going to come in first.

That's why they're looking ahead to these states like Nevada, which votes on Saturday and the other three I mentioned, they all hold their contests a week from tomorrow. Santorum and Paul, they're looking ahead -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paul, thanks.

And tomorrow, you can join the Best Political Team on Television for live coverage of the Florida primary. Wolf Blitzer leads our coverage along with Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and John King. It all starts tomorrow night at 6:00 Eastern.

Well, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is expressing fresh concerns that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. This hour, high-level nuke inspectors are on the ground taking a look around right there in person.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr tracking the visit. So Barbara, what's the goal of the inspection?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, half a dozen inspectors on the ground from the International Atomic Energy Agency for that very reason.

They want to look at Iran's nuclear plants, the documentation, talk to people, try and figure out once and for all if Iran is indeed pursuing a nuclear weapons program as the United States believes or is looking at nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as Iran continues to claim.

They need to get a look at some of these facilities to see what type of enrichment is going on, what types of fuel fabrication. All of the things that might be nuclear energy, but there is widespread suspicion, of course, is going for development of nuclear weapons.

And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta saying, again, any development of a nuclear weapon by Iran would be a red line for the United States. It would make sure that Iran did not have a nuclear weapon. Would military options be on the table?

Well, as always, the Pentagon says nothing is off the table. But for now, they hope inspectors and sanctions can pressure Iran to give up any nuclear weapons ambitions, but so far they haven't seen that result yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is creating international buzz. He says that he remains convinced that someone in Pakistan's government must have known that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in that country just a mile from Pakistan's military academy. Take a listen to what he said on "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Don't forget, this compound had 18- foot walls around it, 12-foot walls in some areas, 18-foot walls elsewhere, and a 7-foot wall on the third balcony of the house.

It was the largest compound in the area. So you would have thought that somebody would've asked the question, what the hell's going on there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And there's a doctor who could face treason charges because he helped the U.S gather intelligence ahead of that raid. Earlier today, a senior official with Pakistan's government said a decision has still not been made.

And in Syria, an activist tells CNN that the government's crackdown on protesters has left the streets there littered with dead bodies and wounded people.

That video was posted online that supposedly shows troops opening fire on the demonstrators in the capital. In recent weeks, hundreds have reportedly been killed and now the United Nations is stepping in.

Max Foster is in London following that for us. So, Max, what exactly is going to happen this week?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, well, it's interesting, isn't it? And those pictures were from Sunday, a big development on Sunday. The Arab League which is meant to be monitoring the situation in Syria has said that they're going to stop their mission because of the sharp violence.

The local coordination committees of Syria, opposition activist group says at least 64 people were killed in Syria on Sunday alone. We can't verify that because we don't have the same access as the activist groups.

Journalists don't have great access to Syria. But certainly violence escalating without the Arab League there, there's huge concern, heavy cLOESCHes in particular in the eastern area outside Damascus.

This is what the newspapers are saying about it around the world. "The Guardian" in the U.K. hopes pinned on the United Nations as you mentioned as fears of bludgeon crisis grows.

Syria's uprising stands poised between intensifying international diplomacy that may achieve little in escalating violence that is taking events on the ground to new and menacing level, a call on the United Nations really to take control here.

Today's demand in Turkey, responsibility was protecting the Security Council is paralyzed over Syria, unable to agree not only on the extreme step of military force, but even on lesser coercive measures like targeted sanctions and arms embargo or referral to the International Criminal Court.

And "Gulf News," in the UAE, Syrian people deserve better than Al-Assad who runs the country. It's incumbent on Al Assad to let Syria take the peaceful route and he should take initiative to persuade others that their regime is coming to an end.

Any United Nation Security Council decision is based on Russia because it has a veto there, a permanent seat on the Security Council, and it wants the Arab League to continue its mission, which isn't happening at the moment. So that's effective on what the United Nations will do next.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll follow it. Max, thanks so much.

And coming up, the Tea Party Movement still deciding which GOP candidate to endorse? Will the Florida primary help them decide? We're taking it to Dana LOESCH.

A horrific scene, one survivor says was mass chaos. More than a dozen trucks and cars collide on a deadly string of accidents on a major interstate. We'll have the details on what exactly happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President Obama leaning on social media again to connect with Americans. At 5:30 Eastern, he's going to take part in a Google+ hangout. It's a chat room feature that allows users to connect with each other via video connections.

And the White House says he'll answer several of the most popular questions. The president held a town hall on Facebook in the spring you might remember, and he had a similar gathering on Twitter over the summer.

Well, one day away until Florida's primary, and right now Mitt Romney is leading the polls, but not necessarily with Tea Party conservatives.

CNN contributor, Dana Loesch joining me now. So, Dana, Billy Tucker, the leader of Florida's largest Tea Party group has chosen not to endorse a candidate. Why and could an endorsement by Tucker impact all of those undecideds?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It could, absolutely, Kyra. It could very much impact those undecided voters. This is sort of the bittersweet thing, the double-edged sword about the Tea Party movement.

Because it's such a large, all encompassing movement, there's a ton of different movements that are sovereign. Each group can decide what it wants to do. I know there have been a couple of Tea Party groups in Florida that have endorsed Newt Gingrich.

There were a couple of Tea Party groups in South Carolina that endorsed him, as well, and different parts of the country. But really from my perspective and the group I'm with in St. Louis, the Gateway Grass Roots Initiative.

One of the really founding things of the movement is that you don't endorse candidates, at least I've always thought that, especially in a primary, you don't get involved and endorse candidates because it seems a little bit too close to being used by candidates.

Candidates can turn around and endorse a movement. If a candidate really truly stands on the platform of the tea party movement and they've shown that they not only believe the things that the Tea Party believes but are willing to enact those in elected office, the votes are going to come.

It really doesn't matter to me whether or not a group particularly endorses a candidate because, you know, voters are smart, they're going to be able to decide for themselves.

But Billy Tucker from my perspective is really keeping true to the spirit of the movement. That's not to say other folks aren't because everybody's different.

PHILLIPS: Well, how about Herman Cain? That's right, he did the same thing. He said I endorse the people and later endorses Gingrich. So how much does his endorsement matter?

LOESCH: It seems a little bit too little, too late. Because if he would've done this a lot earlier, it would have had a lot more impact. To wait this far -- to wait this late into the game, especially a day before Florida, I don't think it's going to have that much of an impact.

Now, if Herman Cain had done something like this in Iowa, there would have been a lot more impact. Now it seems a little bit of odd timing to me.

PHILLIPS: So what are you paying attention on this Monday, the day before the big Tuesday night?

LOESCH: Well, obviously looking to see what groups do in Florida also looking at other states, as well. Florida's really huge, but it doesn't mean it's the end of the story. I don't believe in the theory of inevitability.

So we're still a long way off from Mr. Inevitability. So just watching to see what happens in Florida. And see what goes on from there and see if this continues to be a four-man race or if this finally whittles down to two.

PHILLIPS: Anything can happen as we well know. Dana, thank you show much.

LOESCH: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: It's the bottom of the hour. We're going to take you live to Florida. Which Republican candidate will get the backing of one key voting group? The state's retirees. We'll take you there.

Rubber bullets and tear gas. Police in Oakland, California, arresting hundreds of "Occupy" protesters in a pretty dramatic show of force. We'll take you there next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country. In Oakland, California, "Occupy" protesters burned an American flag less than 24 hours later, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up that crowd. The group even broke into city hall and trashed it. Four hundred people were arrested.

Joplin, Missouri, took a giant step toward recovery. That town was decimated by a tornado that killed 161 people last May. The hospital was just about the only building left standing, but now it's coming down because a new hospital will be built two miles away.

And about 25 miles of I-75 are still closed right now one day after smoke from nearby brush fires made it impossible for drivers to see. Ten people were killed yesterday when about a dozen cars and trucks crashed into one another. Police are now trying to figure out if those brush fires were manmade.

Rob Marciano, you have been checking in on those conditions. What do you know? Is it getting better?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There s a couple of fires there. The biggest one has been contained but still burning. They've been in a long-term drought now, and some of these what were wetlands were so dry, the fuel's burning down feet below the surface.

That's why the fires have been so long-lived and the smoke has been inundating this area. This is satellite interpretation of where the smoke is, the lighter greens, the thinner smoke, but the plumes of more dense smoke around Gainesville are quite prevalent there as of yesterday. Now, as of an hour ago, I-75, parts of it were closed. They may have reopened it since then, but nonetheless, there's still a fair amount of smoke and haze with this.

Temperatures this morning were in the 30s, but above the surface, about 1,000 feet above the surface, temps in the 40s and near 50. That puts a cap on the atmosphere, all that smoke and fog down on the surface, that's why visibilities yesterday and this morning were near zero in spots, but now temperatures are rising into the 50s.

That will mix up the atmosphere and lead to better visibilities, also better visibilities as a stronger onshore wind. But the problem with that is the windy conditions with the dry conditions, as well, red flag warnings for much of Alabama, southern parts of Georgia and central parts of Florida today.

So fire conditions are going to be an issue going forward here. It looks like that fire is contained but still burning. So smoke will continue to be an issue as we go on through the next couple of days.

PHILLIPS: Rob, thanks.

Sarah Palin's urging Florida voters to support Newt Gingrich, but it's still not a formal endorsement. Our political buzz panel weighs in. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now, 34 people were killed across Syria today according to anti-government protesters. CLOESCHes between the army and opposition forces continue outside the nation's capital.

An American aid worker freed in a daring rescue in Somalia is now on her way home. Somali kidnappers held Jessica Buchanan and another worker from Denmark for three months.

He shot President Reagan in 1981. Now another hearing for John Hinckley Jr. is underway. His attorneys are hoping that he'll be allowed to spend more time at his mother's home and then eventually be set free.

All right, time for "Political Buzz, your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today's CNN contributor and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, CNN contributor and Republican strategist, Will Cain and Tea Party activist and talk show host Dana Loesch.

First off, guys, Sarah Palin singing Newt Gingrich's praises yet again, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: We need somebody who is engaged in sudden and relentless form and isn't afraid to shake up that establishment. So if for no other reason, rage against the machine, vote for Newt, annoy a liberal, vote Newt.

PHILLIPS: Rage against the machine. All right, guys, why not just endorse him and if she did, how would it impact his campaign -- Will?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It would be very helpful to his campaign. Why not endorse him? Why are so many conservatives willingly to speak glowingly, but not go and endorse him? Because it's good for business to speak well of Newt.

There are certainly people out there who have a very principled I'm sure allegiance to Newt Gingrich. But I have to say, putting yourself on the side of Gingrich, puts yourself on the side of an audience that perceives him to be the purist, the anti-establishment.

It puts you in line with a big audience for people quite honestly like me who are kind of sitting on the outside of politics and hoping to be involved with the audience. That's just good business. Endorsing Mitt Romney is not good business. You don't get fans that way.

PHILLIPS: Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I will almost never say this, but I agree with Sarah Palin on this, but I would actually change her tag line. If you vote for Newt, I think it would actually be annoy the Republican establishment because I've got to tell you, that's exactly what we liberals want. We want Newt to win. But maybe I shouldn't say that because then he won't win. So, yes, don't vote for Newt, vote for Romney.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

LOESCH: I'm almost in agreement except I think that Romney is the preferred candidate for the left. Because you immediately remove the biggest arrows from his quiver when you want and go attack the democratic incumbent.

I think she's spending her political capital very, very wisely with this. She's trying to make the primary last as long as possible. The longer the primary, and I've gone back and forth about this, then you protect the candidate a little bit more from what's going to be coming from David Axelrod and so on and so forth.

And it does make the establishment mad. We don't follow in line with the establishment, Republicans fall in line not in love.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you don't, you're going past your 30 seconds. All right, question number two. "Face the Nation" yesterday, take a listen to what the RNC chair said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history, and we're going to talk about our own president who is abandoning ship here in the United States and more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you just say? What did you call President Obama?

PRIEBUS: I called him Captain Schettino, you know, the captain that fled the ship in Italy. That's our own president that's fleeing the American people and not doing his job and running around the country and campaigning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Guys, did that comparison cross the line, Maria?

CARDONA: Yes, absolutely it crosses the line, but I'm not surprised. I think Republicans are very nervous and afraid about what this primary's doing to them because they're focused on bloodying and knocking each other out.

As opposed to focus to what they're going to do for the American people when President Obama is out there talking about creating jobs, talking about already created more than 3 million jobs and protecting the middle class and workers as opposed to Republicans who the only person they're going to protect our top 1 percent, millionaires, billionaires and corporations. That's exactly what this election is going to be about.

PHILLIPS: Will, that comparison, did it cross the line?

CAIN: Maria packed so much into that answer, I don't even know how to start refuting it.

That metaphor probably did cross the line. It's close. I mean, look, this is an accident where people died and I think he got a little careless when he was making his loose analogy there. But I (inaudible) -- you know, we kind of are a little bit of a collective outraged society. We're always looking to be offended, looking to be victimized.

I still think it probably crossed the line, but I'm just not going to join in the crowd in saying, oh, everything is so terrible. It's always so terrible.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

LOESCH: I always like kind of -- it was a weird analogy for Reince Priebus to make there. And obviously you don't want to -- President Obama hasn't killed anyone, to my knowledge, so I'm not quite sure that would be analogous (ph) to make that.

But at the same time, there are people out there who look at the president and they see him going on vacation or they see him playing golf, and that's something -- and I'm not a water carrier for George Bush, but George Bush stopped playing golf at a certain point, because he said this is presenting a good message to the voters.

So there are people who may get the impression that the president cares more about campaigning or of maybe taking some time off than leading the country.

And Maria's right, bloodying the candidates, that's right.

PHILLIPS: Buzzer beater time, guys, 20 seconds on this one. Conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham fesses up that President Obama's got some game. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST: Barack Obama, who I saw last night wow a huge crowd in Washington state dinner, yes, I mean, a bunch of us sitting next to each other, very prominent conservatives, former Bush Cabinet members, we're looking at each other, going, I don't know if Mitt Romney can beat him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

INGRAHAM: It was -- he's got to bring his A game. And it can't just -- it can't just be, you know, the kind of thing he's doing with Gingrich, because Obama's operation is really smart. They're going to run a tough campaign.

PHILLIPS: So what do you guys think? Can Romney beat Obama, 20 seconds each? Dana?

LOESCH: I don't think that the Republican establishment or Mitt Romney has the brass or fortitude to go after Barack Obama in the way that they're going after Newt Gingrich.

Maria?

CARDONA: I have to agree with Dana on this. I don't think that Romney can beat Obama. I don't think anybody on the Republican side right now can beat Obama. And that is part of the Republican frustration. They haven't found a candidate who can even be competitive with President Obama going into this election.

PHILLIPS: Will?

CAIN: Yes, Mitt Romney can beat President Obama. That's not even the appropriate question right now. It's who has the best chance to beat President Obama. And quite clearly Mitt Romney has the best chance to beat President Obama over his competitors like Gingrich and Santorum and Paul.

PHILLIPS: Dana, Maria, Will, thanks, guys.

CARDONA: Thanks, Kyra.

LOESCH: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, as early as 35 hours, we could know who voters in Florida want as their Republican nominee to challenge President Obama. Retirees are a significant voting block in that state. Our Brooke Baldwin is there.

So, Brooke, who are they getting behind?

BALDWIN: You know, I spent my whole day in a retirement community on the golf course yesterday, and I seemed to hear the names of two candidates.

I'm going to get to that in a minute, but first let me just throw some numbers on you, as in 72, not to rub it in, but it'll be a balmy 72 degrees here in Tampa, and that's precisely one of the reasons why so many in the 65-or-older crowd decide to retire here to Florida.

Seventeen -- 17 percent of the Florida population is comprised (sic) of that 65-and-older crowd, but that number is much bigger when it comes to those who vote in a Republican primary.

Back in 2008, 33 percent of those Republican primary voters were, again, the 65-and-older crowd. They know every vote counts, and it seems split when I was on the golf course, talking to all these different men and women. They either like Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you're registered to vote (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

BALDWIN: Who are you liking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Newt.

BALDWIN: And so with her talking about Newt Gingrich, were you cringing earlier?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'm not cringing.

BALDWIN: You're not cringing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I think reality is that, because of the divisiveness in the party, I think Obama's unbeatable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like them to say what they would do for our country and then they're -- on different policies and how they would handle different things and how they would run the country instead of getting into each other's baggage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And you know, Kyra, whose name actually never heard once, a man who is out of Texas and very popular with the younger crowd, never heard once anyone talk about Ron Paul. Not really a player here in Florida. But no one mentioned Ron Paul to me yesterday.

PHILLIPS: Well, Jan definitely made it clear she's tired of the baggage and these candidates getting into each other's, I guess, not- so-good details. So what details do they want to hear? What issues are most important to them?

BALDWIN: Yes, I mean, I think if you talk to older folks, younger folks, people are sick of the back-and-forth negative campaigning. They want to hear the solutions, right, we hear that time and time again.

So specifically among the older crowd, not surprising, they want to hear a lot more about health care, but they also want to hear a lot more about how we plan on paying down our country's debt and also the economy.

And, you know, I was in a very nice retirement community yesterday. They essentially are the men and women who we all sort of try to emulate. We want to live how they're living in their golden years.

But it's their kids, it's their grandkids, and in some of the cases ,their great-grandkids because they're facing foreclosure, they're the ones who are out of work, and so they're very concerned about the younger generation. They say it's just not fair. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Brooke, thanks. And tomorrow, you can join the best political team on television for live coverage of the Florida primary, Wolf Blitzer leads our coverage along with Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and John King. It all begins 6:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

And a former president's home goes up for sale. We'll take you inside to see what nearly $2 million can buy.

And this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm so in love with you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: President Obama's not the only one in love. Find out why record sales are soaring for Al Green next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, some Oscar favorites lost out on some big wins last night during Screen Actors Guild awards. But everyone seemed to go home happy. Right, Kareen Wynter?

KAREEN WYNTER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": That's right, Kyra. The cast of "The Help," they really cleaned up on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD PITT, ACTOR: And the actor goes to the cast of "The Help."

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Kyra, the entire group took home the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. Viola Davis won for outstanding performance as an actress in a leading role. And Octavia Spencer, she took home the trophy for supporting actress.

Also in the film category, "The Artist"'s Jean Dujardin, he won for a lead actor in a movie. Now on the TV side, Alec Baldwin, big night for him as well. He took home a trophy for the sixth year in a row as outstanding actor in a comedy series.

Betty White for the second time for outstanding performance as a female actor in a comedy and the cast of "Modern Family," they won as best ensemble for a comedy series.

Now for the movie stars, winning a SAG Award, it's usually a pretty good indication you're at least a favorite for the Oscars. Last year, Kyra, every film winner at the SAG Awards took home the corresponding Oscar. So a lot of favorites, a lot of big faces to watch out for, Kyra. PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what, a number of people in the biz very happy with the President of the United States. Looks like he should maybe, I don't know, cut this song, make a little extra money, help out a friend.

WYNTER: Right? Well, the president -- he can thank the president for this, Kyra. Let's take a look and a listen at what happened when President Obama decided to take on one of Al Green's hit songs "Let's Stay Together." This is actually at a recent fundraiser in Harlem. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I'm so in love with you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: President Obama turning up the charm. According to "Billboard" magazine, while sales of the song shot up, get this, almost 500 percent in the week after the president released his version -- that's huge. That's around 16,000 down loads, Kyra, of the song, and it doesn't count the millions of people who viewed this version on YouTube.

Green has publicly approved of the president's version, of course, saying the commander in chief nailed it. Nothing like getting the president's stamp of approval, Kyra. Wow, wow.

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

WYNTER: People listening to it over and over and over again.

PHILLIPS: He needs to, you know, get the president on board to sing a couple more of his songs. He can --

WYNTER: That may be in the works.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly.

WYNTER: That may be in the works.

PHILLIPS: Kareen, thanks.

Well, if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, you can see it every night, "Showbiz Tonight" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

We rely on our reporters to be our eyes and ears when news breaks, and we hope that you'll take part in a new initiative called "I Am America." Send your iReports for a special series airing the week of February 20th. Show us what makes you uniquely American, from who you are to where you live.

And coming up, presidential politics, primary concerns. Voters in hard-hit Florida are demanding answers from the men seeking the White House. Christine Romans of the CNNMoney team is straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories across the country now. A University of Utah student killed in an avalanche is remembered as an avid outdoorsman and thrill-seeker.

Investigators say the snowboarder slid 2,400 feet down a slope and was buried under three feet of snow. His death marks the ninth avalanche death in the West this season. And experts say the risk of additional slides could remain high all winter.

It took nearly 70 years, but a World War II vet finally received his Purple Heart. Aaron Narville (ph) was wounded in combat while trying to help another soldier. He received his long-awaited honor on his 93rd birthday.

Former President Gerald Ford's California home is up for sale, $1.7 million. It sits on the 13th fairway of the Thunderbird Country Club. The Fords built this Rancho Mirage home in 1979 after leaving the White House.

Don't forget, tomorrow is an all-important Republican primary in Florida, and for voters there, the economy is issue one. The hard-hit stage is still -- or state, rather, is still lagging behind much of the country, though, in bouncing back from their session.

And Christine Romans was actually in Florida last week, she got a chance to talk to voters about issues that are driving them to the polls this year. Christine, what do you think? What are people saying? What's the most important?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, HOST, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE": Housing and jobs, jobs and housing. What comes first? The housing recovery or the jobs recovery? They both need to happen together. For a lot of people who we talk to in Florida, they're not seeing that happen quite yet, 9.9 percent of the unemployment rate.

That's a real problem, more than half of the people who are unemployed have been unemployed for six months or longer. Home prices have basically been cut in half since the peak. And you've got a four in 10 chance of being underwater on your loan. And you know what that means, Kyra. That means you owe more on the house, you owe more on the mortgage than the home is worth.

Although, we did talk to experts, the experts there who are saying, you know, even people on the ground say it feels really terrible in the housing market in Florida, they're seeing these little tiny signs that maybe, just maybe a turn could be coming. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROFESSOR SID ROSENBERG, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA: Yes, I did a study going back to the '60s. And times when it's this affordable, five years hence, prices have easily gone up significantly. I don't know this is so unusual and so rare, but this is such a good sign that housing prices will go up in the future. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: So mortgage rates are really low, but a lot of the buying is cash buying, people from Brazil, people from China, investors from this country, who are buying homes in Florida, you still have a lot of backlog of foreclosures and the like.

But the experts, like Professor Sid Rosenberg, are saying they feel as though we'll be looking back and there'll be a turning point here, close to a turning point for Florida.

PHILLIPS: What about other battleground states? Housing an issue? Where else?

ROMNEY: It is. It is. And that's what's so interesting, Kyra. When you look at most of the battleground states, you see they happen to be some of the worst housing markets in the country. Nevada is one of them, Michigan is one of them. Florida is one of them.

Over and over again, this is going to be an issue that the candidates are going to have to deal with, but also the voters will be taking with them into the voting booth because housing is this fundamental problem for many of these states.

And until housing and jobs come back, I mean, the retail voter, the person who's walking in and casting a vote is probably -- knows somebody or they themselves are having trouble paying their bills.

PHILLIPS: Christine, thanks.

And tomorrow join the best political team on television for live coverage of the Florida primary. Wolf Blitzer leading our coverage. Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and John King, it all begins right here on CNN, 6 o'clock Eastern time.

And it's time to worry about what's in the orange juice that's you're drinking. Well, the FDA is detaining shipments now of foreign O.J. because tests have found a banned fungicide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stories happening later today. At 11:15, first lady Michelle Obama pushing for new rules that would expand the Family Medical Leave Act. At 1:00, Janet Napolitano delivers her state of America's homeland security address.

And at 5:30, President Obama answers questions in a live virtual interview Google+ Hangout. It's also going to stream live on whitehouse.gov and youtube.com/whitehouse.

Well, in your "Daily Dose," first Brazil, now Canada. The FDA is detaining shipments of orange juice from both countries in order to run more tests. Some contain a fungicide banned in the U.S., though not in high enough levels to cause a health concern.

Five orange juice shipments from Brazil and six from Canada tested positive for this fungicide. Tests on domestic manufacturers are still pending.

And coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, the showdown between the Occupy movement and the authorities. It's heating up again. We'll go live for the latest standoff.

And later, a survivor of the deadly pile-up in Florida speaks out. That's all straight ahead when the NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Dow industrials down about 100 points to start the day. Felicia Taylor from the New York Stock Exchange, not looking so good, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, ANCHOR-CORRESPONDENT,"WORLD BUSINESS TODAY": Yes, not on this Monday, the beginning of the trading week. Markets are basically taking their cue from Europe and Asia. And the problem, of course, still being the concerns over Greece and whether or not it could possibly default.

The concern now is that things that -- the talk, the negotiations, the discussions have gone on for so long that it increases the likelihood that there -- something could happen like a default in the near term, unless they are able to get their finances in order.

We heard that from the German finance minister. And that's what really set off the selling pressure beginning in Asia, then in Europe, and now certainly in the United States.

The Dow right now up 3/4 percent, the Nasdaq is down about 2/3 percent, with the S&P off about 4/5 percent. The other big concern in the marketplace right now is, again, how the financials are going to be affected if there is any kind of fallout out of Greece.

Under pressure, particularly this morning, is Bank of America shares, which are down about 3 percent right now. That's also on a downgrade from Goldman, which has now rated as neutral. Citigroup is off 13/4.

The European banks are getting further hits again on those concerns around Greece. Deutsche Bank is down about 44/5 percent. And UBS is down about 31/3. So, clearly we're going to be under some pressure on this Monday of trading session. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Got it. Felicia, thanks.

And Florida's Republican primary is tomorrow, but Ron Paul isn't campaigning there today. In fact, he skipped the state this weekend and just headed north. Our political director Mark Preston with us.

So what's the deal?

MARK PRESTON, SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, if he -- Ron Paul sees that his path to the nomination is not through Florida, he says it's too expensive to campaign down there. And, in fact, what he's going to do is go to caucus states.

So we've seen him over the past couple of days, not in the warm confines of Miami or Tampa. He's been up in Maine campaigning up there, which has just started their caucus process. But where is he going to be on election night? On primary night? It'll be out west.

He's going to be in Colorado, because there's also a caucus out there. Now, the most interesting thing that has come out of this interview yesterday with Candy Crowley on "STATE OF THE UNION," is that Ron Paul says he's going to stay in the race until the Republican convention.

And when asked if he could support one of these other candidates, Kyra, if he doesn't win the nomination, he said it would be very hard to.

PHILLIPS: Hmm. OK. More to follow.

Meanwhile, the President of the United States, sure taking advantage of social media, isn't he?

PRESTON: Yes, you know, somebody who really capitalized on it back in 2008 and really helped propel his campaign, well, President Obama is continuing to do that. In fact, what we'll see today is he's doing an online chat with Google+ and with YouTube.

There's been over 200,000 questions that have been submitted to this online forum, where he's going to take questions. But what's interesting about this is that the questions aren't going to be vetted by you or by me or any journalist. They're going to be vetted by the White House. So I wouldn't expect any really hard questions being lofted at -- lobbed at President Obama.

PHILLIPS: I can't keep up with all of this technology. I had to study up on Google+ today. How about you? Can you keep it up?

(CROSSTALK)

PRESTON: I can tell you what, I understand Twitter, I kind of understand Facebook, I don't understand Google+.

PHILLIPS: OK, good. I'm glad -- hey, I'm old school, too, pal.

PRESTON: Give me a typewriter.

PHILLIPS: Yes, Mark, thanks -- oh, wow, you're taking us back to college days there, Mark. Thank you so much. We'll be talking a lot more obviously tomorrow.

All right. Isha in for Suzanne today while she is in D.C. Good to see you.

ISHA SESAY, ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Good to see you Kyra, and good to see you, Mark. It's a very good morning and a lot to talk about.

PHILLIPS: Take it away.

SESAY: Thank you.