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Obama Faces Reporters Next Hour; Obama To Announce Homeowner Help; Representative Donald Payne Has Died; "Super Tuesday" Showdown Is On; Mom Saves Kids But Loses Her Legs; Jobs, Homes Weigh Heavy On Voters' Minds

Aired March 06, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Live from CNN Headquarters in Atlanta, where it's 12:00 noon here, 9:00 am on the West Coast. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for this Tuesday, March 6th. The Super Tuesday showdown, it is on. Millions of people casting their votes in all 10 of the states holding primaries or caucuses today.

For the Republican candidates, it is the biggest day so far, an all-out brawl for the presidential nomination. For voters in these 10 states, it's a chance for them to have their say. The stakes are high, we're talking 419 delegates up for grabs. That is a more than a third of the number needed to win the nomination.

President Obama, he's not letting the Republicans get all the attention today. It is no coincidence, he's holding a Super Tuesday news conference next hour. It's his first this year. We're going to bring it to you live.

The president will outline a plan to help homeowners who got slammed by the mortgage meltdown. He's also expecting to face some pretty tough questions on the economy: gas prices, Iran's nuclear threat, and Syria.

Prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, he is pushing his campaign to get tough on Iran and soon. He's meeting with lawmakers on The Hill today to assert Israel's right to defend itself if Iran tries to build a nuclear weapon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The bloodbath continues in Syria. Opposition activists say 14 more people died today, as the government there trying to tighten the grip on the uprising. An opposition group says the military blasted a bridge used by people trying to escape across the border into Lebanon. Now, Senator John McCain, he is speaking out, demanding action, including U.S. air strikes.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), ARIZONA: If we want to stand by and watch Syrians being massacred in the most brutal and incredibly genocidal fashion, then that is a decision that we can make. But please don't tell me we can't do it. We can if we have the will. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Republicans are not at all in agreement on this. House Speaker John Boehner said today that he thinks air strikes on Syria led by the U.S. would be, quote, "premature."

Icy roads causing cars to slide all over the place in Ohio. Check out this video. Unbelievable wipeouts. (Inaudible) sets up a camera on a corner in Columbus, captures dozens of cars skidding off the road, they just couldn't get traction. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

An Indiana mom saves her two children, not from one, but two tornadoes. But her legs, almost completely severed, as her home disintegrated around her, debris was piling up on top. Stephanie Decker says that her kids were terrified as this tornado ripped through their house and essentially wipes it away. She used her body to shield them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE DECKER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And they are screaming, Mommy, I can't live without you. I don't want to die. Please don't let me die.

MALVEAUX: Decker says she hopes to be walking in three months with the help of prosthetics.

The 17-year-old accused of that school shooting in Ohio heads back to court today. T.J. Lane is charged with murder and attempted murder. He's accused of opening fire on students at Chardon High School. That happened last week. Prosecutors, they don't want any more information about Lane to be released, and so they're going to argue for that later at the hearing this afternoon.

So a little bit of good news here, right? OK. After 27 days of gas prices going up, they come down. But not by much. AAA is saying the nationwide average was $3.77 a gallon yesterday. Today, it's $3.76. It's rounded off, price actually down just 0.3 cent. But we're going to take it anyway. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

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MALVEAUX: Ten states, 419 delegates, four candidates, all adding up to one big day in the Republican race for president. Super Tuesday voting now underway. Correspondents, we've got them all over the country to break down the races.

We've got Dana Bash, she is in the battleground state of Ohio. David Mattingly, he's in Georgia, a must-win for Newt Gingrich, and Ali Velshi, he's in Oklahoma to talk about oil and gas prices.

Want to start off with Dana. She's in Mt. St. Joseph, Ohio.

Dana, great to see you. Ohio voters, what are they telling you is important to them? DANA BASH, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, like everywhere else in the country, Suzanne, of course the economy is the top issue here in Ohio, especially because this state has been so hard-hit, effectively, over the past four years and even before that.

But what is really fascinating is that, politically, this date is a must-watch, not only for the primary, which, of course, is critical -- there are 63 delegates at stake here -- but also, because it's a real test, Suzanne, as to whether or not these candidates -- of course we're talking mostly about Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum -- have the power to do well in the general election, because you know, you were out here four years ago and beyond that.

This is a critical test ground for who wins in the general election. Issues that I hear about, certainly, are the economy, but Rick Santorum, especially here in southwest Ohio, which tends to be more conservative, this is really ground zero for who's going to win, he is getting a lot of steam from socially conservative voters, pitching those issues.

But at the end of the day, we are talking to other Republican voters, who say that they like Rick Santorum, but they are keeping their eye on the prize, which is the White House, and they believe Mitt Romney is more electable.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dana, thank you. I want to go to David now.

You're in our own backyard, Marietta, Georgia. Most folks you're talking to, are they talking about the home state favorite, Newt Gingrich?

DAVID MATTINGLY, HOST, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: Well, let's put it this way, Suzanne. This is Cobb County, Georgia, north of the city of Atlanta. It is traditionally an affluent Republican area. It's part of Newt Gingrich's former congressional district, so people here are very much in favor of Newt Gingrich.

And he's going to be counting on them very heavily, as people go to the polls today in the state of Georgia, because he needs a solid win here today. And polls show him with a 20-point lead over Mitt Romney here, in order for him to continue with any sort of viability with his candidacy, going forward, from Super Tuesday.

So he's been working the state very hard. He's been campaigning here, seven out of the last nine days. He's even had some campaign workers in his home district going door to door this weekend, to make sure people get out and vote, because the way the system is set up here, he has to win by 50 percent of the vote in 14 different districts in order to walk away with all of Georgia's 76 delegates.

So if he is able to muster that kind of support, he's able to run the table, get all of those delegates, he's making a strong statement to every other state, past Super Tuesday, that, yes, I am still in this race. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right. David, thank you.

I want to go to Ali Velshi. Ali, are you singing yet, "Oklahoma, where the wind comes right behind the rain?" Are you wearing your hat yet?

ALI VELSHI, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, there is a hat somewhere around here that I understand you enjoyed wearing while you were out in the field. This is it right here. But, yes, Oklahoma is known to be a particularly conservative state.

And the people I've talked to today, here's what I'm getting. Number one, a lot of them are participating in the primary later on today.

Number two, of those who are going to vote, polling is indicating that Rick Santorum might have an edge over Mitt Romney, even though the state's Republicans in general say that they would more likely support Mitt Romney in a presidential election.

One of the big concerns or issues here in Oklahoma is, of course, energy. This is the pipeline crossroads of the world, it's an oil- producing state, and all of those pipelines go through here. So not a lot of love for President Obama amongst those who live in the oil patch, particularly after the decision not to continue on, at least for now, with the Keystone pipeline extension.

That said, most of the Republican candidates have similar views on energy, so this now comes down to personal preference. I'm talking to a lot of people who say they've received phone calls from Rick Santorum, robocalls.

They seem to know a lot about him, but we also spoke to people who said they're going to make their decision today, as they go to the polls, because they want to choose between a candidate they like -- in many cases, that's Rick Santorum -- and a candidate they think can beat Barack Obama, and a lot of those people think that might be Mitt Romney.

So it's going to be a close race to watch here in Oklahoma. A little later on, we're heading to the elections center and polling station to get a sense of how things are going here, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Ali. We're going to be following you. We want that hat on next go-around. Ali, Dana, David, thank you very much. We'll get back to you just in a bit.

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MALVEAUX: All right. Here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. Forget the voter polls, throw out the ballot boxes, what really matters this go-around? Is it number of Facebook likes? OK, maybe not.

But candidates, campaign staffs, political pundits, they're looking closely at how you interact with candidates on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. All of them, millions of you, are expressing who you like on Facebook.

Romney has more than a million likes, Ron Paul has more than 800,000. Gingrich and Santorum lagging behind a bit, and the commander in chief, President Obama, is commanding the most likes with more than 24 million.

With Facebook and Twitter, the candidates or their staffs can communicate directly with voters, targeting their messages, right? Well, pundits are trying to figure out if these tweets are actually going to translate into votes.

So here's the "Talk Back." Do social media influence your views of the candidates? Leave the comments at Facebook.com/suzannecnn or you can tweet me @suzannemalveaux. And I'll put some of your responses on the air later this hour.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories we are also covering first. Israel's prime minister is pressing the flesh on Capitol Hill. Why Republican leaders are eager to get their photo with him.

And I'm going to tell you what caused this courtroom fight.

Then, why is Ohio such a big prize in today's Super Tuesday contest? We're going to talk to Republican strategists, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A lot of lawmakers on The Hill are eager for a photo op today with Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister, he's in Washington. He's making his intentions clear.

As he told President Obama yesterday, if Israel thinks that Iran poses a nuclear threat, the Israelis will defend themselves and they will attack.

Elise Labott, she is live on The Hill with more. Elise, first of all, has anybody that you've seen or talked to expressed alarm at the prime minister's message?

ELISE LABOTT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: I don't think so, Suzanne. I mean, as you know, this is a very receptive audience for Prime Minister Netanyahu.

You know, Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much, but there's one thing they agree on, is the need to stand by Israel, and basically, this isn't only a message at home to the Israeli public, but also to President Obama, that the U.S. Congress stands by Israel, the need for it to defend itself against a potential nuclear armed run. Everyone agrees that that is not something that the U.S. or anybody wants to see.

MALVEAUX: And, Elise, U.S. gives more than $3 million a year to Israel's military. Is there anybody who is trying to use that leverage with lawmakers to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran?

LABOTT: No, Suzanne. I mean, in these tough budget times, the one thing that we haven't seen a sharp decrease in is U.S. aid to Israel. I think that everyone on the Congress is in wide agreement that there needs -- that Israel needs to be protected, aid for its military, aid for its security.

In fact, there are some reports now of legislation that some Republican lawmakers might introduce to give Israel additional missiles. So I think that everyone wants to maintain that, what they call qualitative military edge, for Israel in this dangerous neighborhood.

MALVEAUX: It's a tough thing to actually understand, but how much do we know, as lawmakers, really getting behind the Israeli prime minister, a political move on their part, or are they -- are they in step, lockstep, with the prime minister?

LABOTT: Well, I think that, you know, you see some initial reports coming out of the meetings that he had with Senator McCain and Senator Graham saying, he's playing to those fears that the Obama administration is not necessarily taking Israel's concerns into effect, the idea that they want to go -- Israel wants to go after Iran, before it has the capacity to build a nuclear weapon, rather than the Obama administration and some Democratic lawmakers that say, give sanctions some time, give diplomacy more time.

And we've seen today that the P5+1, this group that's been negotiating with Iran, is already answering their calls for more talks, and we could see more talks. So I think that Republicans, you saw some of the Republican candidates, like Newt Gingrich speaking, Santorum speaking to the group, calling the president an appeaser of Iran.

I think that, definitely, this is a political football. But at the same time, everybody knows about the need to defend against nuclear Iran. Senator Kerry, though, voicing some concern about what President Obama called this loose talk of war. All this kind of drumbeat is only emboldening the regime, and increasing oil prices.

MALVEAUX: All right. Elise Labott, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Checking stories our affiliates are covering cross-country. Got to check out this wild scene in a Massachusetts courtroom, a guy being arraigned on murder charges, when the victim's family goes after him. One person got off a punch to the face before courtroom security took control. The suspect is accused of stabbing to death his estranged girlfriend.

Not going to believe what officials say caused a deadly fire in an Ohio nursing home: a meth lab. The fire chief says somebody set up the meth lab in one of the nursing home facility rooms. One person died, five others now are in the hospital.

And why are these New Yorkers holding up pink slips? To remind folks of the millions of Americans out of work. The demonstrators lined up for three miles long, along Broadway this morning, to draw attention to unemployment. To the former first lady, and she is famous for telling it like it is. We're going to hear why Barbara Bush says this is the worst campaign she has ever seen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Former first lady Barbara Bush, she's never been one to hold back. And she's got a lot of attention for her opinion of the Republican race right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH: It's been, I think, the worst campaign I've ever seen in my life. I just hate it. I hate the fact that people think compromise is a dirty word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: She hates it. But she does have a favorite. The former first lady has lent her voice to the Romney campaign, urging voters to support him in robocalls.

All right, political junkies, we are finally here. It is Super Tuesday. Candidates are making a last frantic push for the votes that could put them in the driver's seat in the battle for the nomination. We are talking 10 states, 419 delegates up for grabs. Some big campaign bucks being dumped into advertising on this make-or-break contest today.

CNN political contributors Alex Castellanos and Paul Begala joining us to get the nitty-gritty of today's results, what could it mean for the candidates. Great to see you guys, here in person!

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: You know, I don't want to do this faraway stuff anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We miss you in Washington.

MALVEAUX: Oh, you know, I'll come back from time to time.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Let's talk about Ohio. We've got 66 delegates up for grabs, obviously, very competitive there. Now, according to a Romney political adviser, calling this a knife fight in a phone booth, that's gross, OK? That's just a gross analogy.

But it is a bloodbath. Why do you think we are seeing such a nasty and close race, Alex?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I'm not sure it's all that nasty. I think if anything, our -- the primary lacks enthusiasm for the candidates, as opposed to real passion, this pitting a candidate against each other. And I think that may hurt Republicans in the fall.

We've seen a lot -- Paul and I, I think, both have seen much tougher races than this, where much worse has been said about the candidates.

But this is a big day. You know, Mitt Romney could not afford to lose Michigan a week ago. Rick Santorum can't afford to lose Ohio tonight. If he does, then that's the beginning of the -- they'll have to hook the jumper cables up to him.

MALVEAUX: How would you describe it in Ohio?

PAUL BEGALA, POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think Alex is right. I think it is pretty doggone nasty, especially for a Republican primary. Usually they're the hierarchical, orderly party. It's my party, usually, that forms a circular firing squad.

MALVEAUX: It gets kind of messy, yes.

BEGALA: Yes. And so -- and I do think Ms. Bush makes a good point, in that the extremism in her party, Republicans used to be kind of the practical party. Certainly her husband is a very practical guy.

Now compromise is a dirty word in the Republican Party, and that's why this is so bitter, because Mitt Romney used to be for compromise. He was for, basically for ObamaCare, before it was ObamaCare, now the far right is dragging him off to the extreme.

CASTELLANOS: In politics, as in life, as in football, compromise is not always the way to solve a problem. You know, if I'm standing at the edge of a precipice and I want to go 10 steps, well, just compromising and going three steps off the ledge, that doesn't help me. And the reason --

BEGALA: I love that. That's great.

CASTELLANOS: -- the reason Republicans -- and a lot of Democrats -- President Obama won't compromise right now, because both parties feel we're at a critical moment, economically, and there's a lot important to fight over. So that's why there's so little compromise.

MALVEAUX: All right. I want to talk about something that we really didn't expect. Nobody expected a fight over birth control during this campaign season.

But after Rush Limbaugh makes these comments about the college student, calling her a slut for weighing in on this debate, he apologizes. Advertisers are pulling out. You know, they don't want to touch this hot potato here.

This seems to go beyond Rush Limbaugh. It's taken on a whole new meaning in this campaign. I want you to listen to last night, Stephen Colbert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN, "THE COLBERT REPORT": Of course, you call one woman you've never met a slut and a prostitute, and demand that she post an Internet gangbang tape, and suddenly the lamestream media is jumping down your throat, if there were room in there with all that ham.

So, naturally, the Republican candidates were called upon to repudiate Rush, and they did so in no certain terms.

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTORUM, R-PA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's been absurd. I mean, that's-- you know, an entertainer can be absurd.

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not the language I would have used.

COLBERT: Yes, slut and prostitute is not the language Mitt would have used. He might have used trollop or wanton harlot or bow-legged dumpster skank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: OK. I want to go to you first, Alex.

CASTELLANOS: You can talk politics. It's OK.

MALVEAUX: No, I want to throw this one your way here. Does anybody benefit from talking about this and weighing in? Because, clearly, this has become a political campaign issue.

CASTELLANOS: At this point, it's, you know, there's nothing here for Republicans. But there was a moment for Mitt Romney and for other Republicans, when this happened, to demonstrate some strength. You know, this is not a moment to leave the bat on your shoulder and to say -- to remain silent.

This is a moment to say, look, it went way too far, no. This is not acceptable. You don't demonize a young lady like that, who's expressing herself, on something she feels passionately about. And Republicans should have done something about that. You know, last election was hope and change.

MALVEAUX: Do you think that language was strong enough? From either one of them? Santorum and Romney?

CASTELLANOS: I honestly don't. And I think it was a missed opportunity for them to do well, politically, by doing the right thing morally. And I think they could have been much stronger.

MALVEAUX: And Paul, do you think it helps Obama here with women and moderates, who look at this and say, oh, you know, this has gone beyond the pale?

BEGALA: Well, it does, because the Republicans now are in the position where they basically want to repeal the 20th century. OK? The right of married couples to use birth control has been enshrined since the -- in the Constitution since 1964, Griswold versus Connecticut.

Rick Santorum says that was wrongly decided. Mitt Romney wants to defund contraception and Planned Parenthood and Title X, which, yes, Title X is contraception funding by the federal government.

Was written into law, by the way, by Barbara Bush's husband, George H.W. Bush, signed into law by Richard Nixon. The Republicans have taken this extreme anti-woman view, and it's driven -- Mitt Romney's favorable now is 28. Twenty-eight!

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Jump in real quick, because we're running out of time.

CASTELLANOS: Republicans are not against contraception. We have --

BEGALA: Sure they are.

CASTELLANOS: We have the adulterous candidates to prove it.

(LAUGHTER)

CASTELLANOS: That's not the --

MALVEAUX: Ouch!

CASTELLANOS: -- that's not the case. Look, nobody wants to defund contraception, nobody's against women here. This is ridiculous. This started as an issue about religious liberty. That is still there.

MALVEAUX: All right. We've got to leave it there. Paul and Alex, great to see you both. We'll continue the conversation another time. Thanks again.

Join us tonight, our coverage of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses beginning at 6:00 Eastern with a special edition of "JOHN KING, USA." That is followed by CNN's complete live coverage of the results at 7:00 with John, as well as Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, and many more.

As a part of our Super Tuesday coverage, you can also take part in the CNN election roundtable. It is a live insider chat. It is going on right now, CNN.com. Wolf Blitzer and our political team want to take you behind the scenes, where our reporters and analysts are answering your questions.

It is a big day for the Republican presidential candidates, but President Obama, he is stealing some of the spotlight. We're going to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody. MALVEAUX (voice-over): A live report.

OBAMA: I want to give --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.

President Obama said he has some new ideas to help struggling homeowners. He's going to tell us what they are. That is coming up next. Then, how will the president match up against his potential GOP opponents in November's election? We're actually going to find out.

And later, you know moms, they're going to do whatever it takes to protect their kids. But wait until you hear one mother's story of bravery and sacrifice from the tornado zone.

President Obama hoping to steal a little bit of the Republican's thunder today. He is holding a news conference. That is happening in the next hour. Head of the Democratic National Committee, she says, it's no accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, CHAIRWOMAN, DNC: It's not coincidence. I mean, I think we have got a lot of really important issues going on in the country right now. President Obama just hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu in the White House yesterday.

There are, you know, so many different things going on in terms of jobs and the economy and the discussion of where we need to go with this country and moving our economy forward. So this is a perfect day to, for the president to hold a news conference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. Wow, Dan. I mean, they're pretty straight up about the whole thing.

We saw on the day of the Michigan primary, President Obama, he goes before the American auto makers and reminds them, I was the one to bail you out.

Now, today, the single most important days for Republicans trying to take his job, he steals the light in a news conference. So tell me this, which Obama is likely to come out today, Obama the candidate or Obama the president?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think you'll see a little bit of both. You know, this is a White House that never misses the opportunity to seize the headlines.

And for the last several months now, you know, you've had the Republican race, which has been, you know, so heated and grabbing a lot of headlines out there.

And so, as you pointed out, there have been other big days for Republicans when this White House has either scheduled an event or made some kind of an announcement that has stolen some of the thunder. So you see that again.

I think what's interesting is, when the president goes out on the road to do some of these official events, oftentimes, it's hard to tell the difference between an official event and a campaign event.

But what White House officials will say is, look, when the president is out there talking about policy, that's also a chance for him to talk about his accomplishments, so that's why they say it sounds like, you know, campaigning.

So this is a president who, today, will be certainly focused on real issues, will talk about his accomplishments, but in an election year, everything also is about the politics.

MALVEAUX: And Dan, real quick here. I know that he's announcing some initiatives. Is he going to make news, we think?

LOTHIAN: Well, a little bit of news. I mean, what the president's going to be talking about, according to White House officials, is help for military personnel, for veterans who are struggling to pay for their mortgages.

So he'll provide a little bit of relief in the sense that they'll get lower interest rates or fees, rather, lower fees as they try to get lower interest rates, saving about $1,000 a year.

And also, what we will hear from the president is a deal reached with big lenders, whereby it will provide, again, some of those military personnel, who had high interest rates, who were given high interest rates, or were wrongly foreclosed on, that they will get some compensation for that.

So in general, those with FHA loans and these military personnel will be part of this announcement that the president will be unveiling at the press conference today.

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan, we'll be circling back, obviously, in the 1:00 hour, for that press conference. Thanks again, Dan.

We'll bring you live coverage of the president's news conference. That in the next hour, scheduled to start at 1:15 Eastern from the White House.

Sad news, 12-term Democratic Congressman Donald Payne has died. Payne was the first African-American elected to Congress from New Jersey. His office says he died of complications from colon cancer.

President Obama is offering his condolences. In a statement released just in the last hour, he says in part, "Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Congressman Donald Payne. Don will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time." Congressman Payne was 77 years old.

Republicans are fighting it out in 10 states today. We're going to tell you what's at stake in Super Tuesday races and how the candidates match up against President Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Republican candidates fighting it out today. Ten states, more than 400 delegates up for grabs in Super Tuesday races. I want to bring in our senior political analyst, David Gergen, who's here with us. And we love to see you in person.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you. It's good to see you.

MALVEAUX: I want to do some hypotheticals here, some matchups between the Republicans and President Obama, if the general election was in fact today.

So first, recent polls showing President Obama beating Romney by 10 points. What do we expect in terms of making up the difference there? What would Romney need to do?

GERGEN: To make up the difference, he has got to focus like a laser on the economy, and most importantly, he has to connect. The great novelist wrote, the famous phrase in literature, only connect, only connect.

I think that is what he has failed to do, but I think it's starting to work for him a little better. These last ten days, his language is changing. I think Ann Romney led the way on that.

MALVEAUX: The same poll actually shows that President Obama would beat Santorum by 11 points. Does that actually say something about electability here? Does it bust that myth that Mitt Romney is more electable than Santorum?

GERGEN: Well, there's an interesting question. I must say, most polls show us a significant difference between Romney versus Santorum, against Obama. In most polls, you find Santorum running several points behind Obama. If anything, the one that's sort of like -- well, a lot of polls show Ron Paul running very close to Obama, very close to Mitt Romney.

MALVEAUX: What does that say?

GERGEN: I don't know what that says. Well, he does have a fervent following. And you know, the Paul people complain regularly, we're not giving him enough attention in the media.

But he's got to -- you've got to be competitive in states in order to get media attention. You've got to show up in the polls and then he gets the attention.

MALVEAUX: Right and let's look forward to the next hour. Obviously, you know, brilliant, genius, President Obama says, I'm going to have a news conference today, on Super Tuesday. Steal a little bit of the thunder away from the Republicans.

GERGEN: Remember, he did this last weekend. Remember, in Michigan, he spoke to the UAW the very day they were voting in Michigan and he was clearly competing. As the Republican debates seem to fade away, Obama wants to have his own debates on primary nights because he knows we're going to carry it.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely, he's going to get a lot of attention today. I want to ask two things, though. The economy is very important to voters. Obviously, number one.

But reporters, I know, are going to go after him on two follows issues, foreign policy whether or not the U.S. would get involved if Israel attacked Iran.

And secondly, whether or not we should be involved in Syria, in what looks like a civil war. What does the president need to say to voters to assure them that we're not going to get into another war here?

GERGEN: The truth is, the president came closer to bringing us to war these last few days. You know, it's always -- the assumption has always been that if negotiations fail, if sanctions fail, then we have two very, very difficult options, to bomb or to live with the bomb, in what's called a containment strategy.

And what was interesting these last few days was, the president effectively took the containment strategy off the table. He has dismissed it. He says it won't work, he says it's going to lead to nuclear proliferation.

And now what he's basically saying to reassure the Israelis is, we're going to try the negotiations, we'll try the sanctions, but if they fail, then we will use military force.

So there are a lot of generals in the army who thought containment was a better way to go. They don't want to bomb. They don't want to get involved in this. I was quite interested in that.

The president drew himself closer to Israel as well, and I think he'll repeat this in effect by affirming Israel's right took into account alone.

What I think is the administration privately really does not want to get involved with Israel. They really want to hold them back, but they understand that Israel has a different calculus than we do about the threat.

MALVEAUX: All right, David, great to see you. We'll be watching, obviously, President Obama live in the next hour.

GERGEN: We will, indeed. And he'll probably run all through the night. Mitt Romney's going to look at that.

MALVEAUX: Stealing all my airtime!

GERGEN: Yes, exactly.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, David.

Join us tonight. Coverage of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses begins at 6:00 Eastern with a special edition of "JOHN KING, USA" followed by CNN's complete live coverage of the results at 7:00 with John, Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and more.

So you've been weighing in on the "Talk Back" question. Do social media like Twitter, Facebook, influence your view of the candidates?

Devon says, "Not really. They show us how they are by beating each other up in the campaigns." More of your responses, just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So you've been sounding off on the "Talk Back" questions. Millions of you are following the presidential candidates on Twitter and Facebook. Do these social media influenced your view of the candidates?

Will writes, "I don't think it has influenced me. I can judge for myself. I think it is encouraging that people otherwise not interested have been chiming in and paying attention. If we weren't responsible to dig a little deeper before rushing to judgment based on some random posts, then so be it."

Don says, "Until I see a political conversation that addresses the issues and doesn't devolve into an insult filled back and forth, social media will have little impact on who I vote for."

Delvin writes, "Absolutely. Social media brings out aspects of candidates' campaign platforms not addressed in other forums, such as pro-lifers not really being pro-life because they support the death penalty. That tidbit gleaned from social media definitely influenced my view of the candidates."

Keep the conversation going at facebook.com/suzannecnn or tweet me @suzannemalveaux. Thanks for all you sharing your thoughts. We're going to have more in a bit.

A tornado threatened an Indiana's mom's kids. What did she do? She fought back. Her kids are OK. But she didn't make it out of the storm unscathed. You've got hear her story, up next.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. And joining me this hour, John Ulzheimer is the president of consumer education with smartcredit.com, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is a personal finance author and founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com.

Guys, thanks for coming in. John, your question comes from Jim in Pennsylvania. Jim has a 30-year fixed mortgage. He got it in 2009. He's got an interest rate of 5.25 percent. But he wants to know, even at that rate, if he should refinance.

JOHN ULZHEIMER, PRES. CONSUMER EDUCATION, SMARTCREDIT.COM: Yes, and that's funny, we talk about 5.25 as not being the most optimal rate out there available. It's about 150 basis points higher than the best rate right now.

Absolutely. Look, there's a cost involved with refinancing. And if you plan on staying in a house for more than five years, it's generally going to work out in your favor. Especially if he's got good credit and a little bit of equity in the house, he can probably get a rate close to 3.75 right now.

HARLOW: Wow.

All right, and, Lynnette, your question comes from Chris in California. Chris wrote in, "I want to open a 529 for any kids." A college savings plan. "What happens to the account if my children attend an out of state school?" So this does matter where they go to school.

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Here's the great thing about 529 plans. No, it doesn't matter at all. These plans are terrific. I have them for my three kids because they're portable and they're transferable in many ways. So let's assume you, you know, whatever state you live in, you can buy in California, in Michigan, in Texas, you know, Utah, it really doesn't matter because if your kid goes to a school in, say, Arizona or Michigan, the 529 funds can transfer and go along with them. Or if, say, your oldest kid, Johnny, decides, I don't want to go to college after all, I want to go travel and find myself, you can transfer the 529 plans down to little Janie, his sister.

HARLOW: To another kid.

KHALFANI-COX: So it's a really flexible way to save for college and a great resource.

HARLOW: All right, guys, thank you so much.

And, folks, if you have a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail anytime to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: An Indiana mom saves her two children, not from one, but two tornadoes. Her legs were almost completely severed as her home disintegrated around her and debris piled on top of her. Drew Douglas of our affiliate WLKY has Stephanie Decker's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW DOUGLAS, WLKY CORRESPONDENT: Here's all that remains of the Decker's home after the two tornadoes whipped through Henryville. Just before the devastation struck, Stephanie Decker put herself on the line for her kids. She grabbed a large comforter and wrapped them inside and then rested herself on top of them to shield them from all the debris.

STEPHANIE DECKER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was reaching around, holding them, and trying to keep everything away from them so it didn't hit them.

DOUGLAS (voice-over): The wreckage that piled on Stephanie broke seven of her ribs and almost completely severed both of her legs.

DECKER: I had two steel beams on my legs. And I couldn't -- I couldn't move. I was stuck.

DOUGLAS: Decker told her eight-year-old son, Dominic, to make sure the coast was clear before getting help. Stephanie's fear was confirmed. A second twister was headed right for her family.

DECKER: And they're screaming, mommy, I can't live without you. I don't want to die. Please don't let me die.

DOUGLAS: Despite being pinned down by the steel beams, Decker covered her two children a second time in the comforter. After two tornadoes, just minutes apart, leveled their home, Dominic and five-year-old Reese didn't suffer so much as a scratch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody that knows her has no doubt that's what she'd do.

DOUGLAS: Unable to remove the heavy debris lying on top of their badly injured mother, Decker's young son went for help. The phone lines were down, so Stephanie used her cell phone for something else.

DECKER: And then I took my phone and I made a video to my husband.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

DECKER: Telling him I loved him. And my children that I loved them.

DOUGLAS: After what seemed like a lifetime, a neighbor and four others finally arrived for the 37-year-old mother writhing in pain.

DECKER: He came down and I looked at him, I said, I'm dying, you've got to save me.

DOUGLAS: Tourniquets were made to prevent her from bleeding to death. She was eventually taken to the University of Louisville Hospital where she continues to cover. Both of her legs, casualties from the massive storm.

DECKER: But if I can make it through that, I can live through anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: Wow. We wish her and her family the best. Our thoughts go out to all of the tornado victims. To find out more on how you can help them, go to cnn.com/impact. You're going to find all these groups and ways that you can help those in need. That is cnn.com/impact.

Another city got slammed by a tornado, and now they're cleaning up a bit of an oversight. When the tornado hit Branson, Missouri, last week, nobody got a call or a text message warning them to take cover. Now, of course, they're supposed to under the city's code red system. The problem is that the system wasn't turned on. The fire chief says the company that runs the system admits they messed up and they're sorry.

So, how much is unemployment going to weigh on the minds of voters as they head to the polls this Super Tuesday? We're going to break down those numbers state by state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Big decision for many voters heading to the polls on this Super Tuesday is the economy. Well, Christine Romans, she shows us just how big a deal unemployment and underwater mortgages could be for each state.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's two issues that affect voters most. Where you live and how you pay the bills. Let's start with jobs.

In six of the 10 Super Tuesday states, the unemployment rate today is lower than when the president took office. Alaska, Massachusetts, look at North Dakota. 3.3 percent. Ohio, Tennessee, and Vermont. Now, Ohio, the big battleground state. The rate is down from when the president took office, down from its high of last year, but still an uncomfortable 7.9 percent. A half a million people there are still out of work. Tennessee, the rate is above the national average, 8.5 percent there.

Here in Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, candidates can rightfully say that the jobless rate has risen since Obama stepped into the White House. In Newt Gingrich's home state of Georgia, 9.4 percent was the unemployment rate at the end of last year. And in 2010, the state's jobless rate spiked to an all-time high of 10.5 percent. Idaho, Oklahoma, and Virginia also have higher rates than when the president took office. But in Oklahoma and Virginia, you got 6.3 percent and 6.1 percent. That's better than the national average.

I want to take a look now at housing because if you're underwater, it means you owe more on the home than the home is worth, Super Tuesday states have some of the highest rates of underwater mortgages in the country. I mean take a look at Georgia. Thirty-three percent of homeowners in Georgia have a house that's underwater. In Idaho, it's one in four. In Virginia, it's 23 percent. This is according to CoreLogic. And the national rate is 22 percent. And look at Ohio. That battleground Ohio. Twenty-four percent of people who have home loans owe more on the house than the house is worth. An interesting thing about Ohio, it's one of the reasons why Ohio is almost a proxy, really, for what the GOP nominee faces in November. Do voters focus on how bad things got or how they're very slowly, slowly, improving.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.