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White House Shooting Suspect Captured; Millionaires to Congress: Tax Us More; Teen Commits Suicide After Claiming Years of Abuse; Newt Gingrich Surges in Recent Polls; Wolf Blitzer to Host Soul Train Awards; President Buys Crocodile Insurance Upon Visiting Australia

Aired November 16, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Next on "Reporter Roulette," Jean Casarez live in University Park, Pennsylvania, with more on the story there.

Jean, we are finally hearing from the man, the once grad assistant, right, written up in that grand jury report now, assistant coach of Penn State, taking a lot of heat in this scandal, assistant coach Mike McQueary. What is he saying in this e-mail?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Mike McQueary is such an important witness for this case and in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the newspaper today "The Morning Call" has said that they have received an e-mail that Mike McQueary actually sent in the last week-and-a-half to a former student at the university.

And in that e-mail, they say that he says that in 2002, he contacted the police in regard to what he saw, the oral sex happening in the men's locker room here at Penn State. Well, I looked at the grand jury presentment and there quite possibly is an inconsistency, because it very plainly shows under victim number two that Mike McQueary did not contact police.

Now, here are some quotes from this e-mail -- quote -- I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room" and -- quote -- "did have discussions with police and the official at the university in charge of police."

So, obviously, he is saying to this former classmate that he contacted police and there was never, to our understanding, a police report made in 2002.

BALDWIN: Right, I read grand jury report as well, and it details how he actually went to his father and then he went on to Joe Paterno. Never once in this grand jury report does it mention that he went to police, correct?

CASAREZ: It very specifically says he went to his father the next day, Joe Paterno, and then the next day the vice president of business, who is in charge of the state college police with the university.

BALDWIN: OK. Jean Casarez, thank you so much on campus there at Penn State. Next on "Reporter Roulette," millionaires going to D.C., telling Congress, tax us more.

Kate Bolduan live on Capitol Hill.

And, Kate, who are these people?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are asking for something that many Americans do not ask, you don't often hear up here on Capitol Hill, which is raise our taxes.

This is a group of millionaires, a former AOL executive as well as the founder of Ask.com among them, on Capitol Hill with a very basic message. The super committee should first off, when they are looking for ways to cut our deficits and get our debt under control, look towards wealthier Americans. They want to see the super committee raise taxes on income over $1 million.

This is a group of millionaires. They call themselves the Patriotic Millionaires. It's a group that was formed last year. They were then calling on Congress to let the Bush era tax on the wealthy expire and now they say their message is as important as ever, saying that this is what the super committee should look to when we need to tackle our deficits and debt.

They are making the rounds on Capitol Hill, had an event this morning, a press conference and now they're kind of pounding the pavement, meeting with Democratic and trying to meet with Republican members and of course targeting the super committee to get their messages to them. They are meeting with some members, like the Democratic House leader, Nancy Pelosi, as well as I'm told Congressman Becerra as well as Congressman Jim Clyburn, two members on the super committee, but also meeting with some legislative staffs of some other members.

BALDWIN: Perhaps it is too early to ask, but I will anyway, Kate. Do we know -- do we know yet how this message of tax us more, how it is being received?

BOLDUAN: Well, they are still meeting with some members as we speak.

BALDWIN: OK.

BOLDUAN: No, but I can say this very confidently, that this event that is, in part, sponsored by the House Progressive Caucus, a group of more liberal Democratic members in the House of Representatives who already welcome that message and have been offering that message which is raise taxes on the wealthy in order to pay down our deficit and debt.

I will tell you on the flip side, while not hearing directly from Republican members, I doubt they are taking this message very seriously, if I could say it that way, because Republicans have roundly rejected this idea for paying for anything up here on Capitol Hill, saying that you do not raise taxes on job creators in a time of a jobs crisis.

These millionaires clearly disagree with that statement. But they are up here to send their message anyway -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Pounding the pavement, as you said, Kate Bolduan. Thank you.

And, hey, speaking of millionaires, my Twitter account, it has been blowing up about the Fannie and Freddie bonuses. In a couple of minutes, you will hear what happened on the Hill today there as well when executives got in the hot seat. So stay tuned for that.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for us for this Wednesday.

Still ahead, listen to this. A guy stabs his lawyer with a pencil in court. So he gets a new lawyer, stabs him. Wait until you hear what happens to lawyer number three, after the judge restrains the suspect all Hannibal Lecter-style.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R-CA), OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You made $9.3 million the last two years while the president made $800,000. Do you think that's OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Taxpayers bailed out Fannie and Freddie and just recently the mortgage giants asked for more. Well, guess what, millions of dollars are going to executives for bonuses and that sparked some serious fireworks today on the Hill as executives sat on the hot seat.

Plus, reporters confront Newt Gingrich on accusations that he lobbied for Freddie Mac and made a lot of cash doing it. You will hear his answer.

And the feds busting a suburban pill mill involving cash, prescriptions Find out who is accused of running this. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here is a number for you, 95.4 million, as in dollars. That's what taxpayers paid in salary and benefits to the top managers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since 2009. Those managers were on Capitol Hill today. And it got pretty tense when the House Oversight chairman quizzed them about their pay history.

Here is just a little bit of that interaction today on the Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: But you made $9. 3 million the last two years while the president made $800,000. Do you think that's -- that's OK? MICHAEL WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FANNIE MAE: Congressman, I have been brought in and asked to take on this role as CEO so that I can put in place a management team that can help achieve the goals of conservatorship, which has stabilized the company, provided liquidity to the market and helped...

(CROSSTALK)

ISSA: OK. But -- but you're still losing money, you've taken $90 billion, and you're getting $9 million a year.

Let me go on to Mr. Haldeman.

Now, Bloomberg and other organizations were concerned when you came on board because you don't come with a background like Mr. Williams does. Basically, you're not qualified to run the organization if one were to look at your historic resume. That was a concern. But you did come out of the private sector.

Hopefully, you remember: What did you make the last year you were at Putnam?

CHARLES "ED" HALDEMAN JR., CEO, FREDDIE MAC: I don't -- I don't recall.

ISSA: Did you make more than $1 million?

HALDEMAN: Yes, I did.

ISSA: Was your compensation tied to performance?

HALDEMAN: Yes, it was.

ISSA: Was it tied tightly to performance in which you could literally look at the yields of accounts or the profits of the organization in order to determine what your bonus would be?

HALDEMAN: It was -- it was tied to the performance of the funds. It was tied to the economic performance of the company. And I had equity participation as well.

ISSA: Now, equity participation always assumes that the stock goes up, right?

HALDEMAN: It doesn't always, no. It -- it happened to during my tenure...

(CROSSTALK)

ISSA: Your -- your options were worthless if your stock went up -- or -- went -- went down?

HALDEMAN: That would be correct.

ISSA: OK, so -- at -- at Freddie Mac, has your stock gone up?

HALDEMAN: In my tenure it has not...

(CROSSTALK)

ISSA: OK, I just want to make sure that $7. 8 million over the last two years is based on a company who is not worth more today.

As a matter of fact, just for the record, if I were to look at the net profits for Fannie Mae from 2003 to 2010, I would find the net profits were a $10 billion, $11 billion loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And in case you are keeping track, those execs are each set to receive about $6 million for 2011 as both Freddie and Fannie ask for billions of more dollars to cover losses.

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Still ahead: It is perhaps the most powerful group of lawmakers in Washington right now, so how does the super committee cut more than $1 trillion, and will they do it by the deadline? My next guest says there is no way to strike a bargain. Don't miss this.

Plus, no cages, no shield, no fear -- why this man dove inches away from great whites. Yikes. That's next, two minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Kind of curious, would you do this, divers swimming around sharks without any protection, no cage, no nothing, just scuba gear? Let's watch this video together. He is getting a little close, a little close for my liking -- multiple sharks, by the way, in those waters.

The divers say they weren't scared. They say sharks are not as dangerous as people think. You agree? Let me know. Send me a tweet.

Let's talk about politicians now. This time next week, we will know what the so-called super committee has come up with -- its mission, cut $1.2 trillion of spending over the course of the next decade. And, apparently, you don't think it can do it, because take a look at this.

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows most Americans think it is unlikely this group of six Republicans, six Democrats will have a plan in place by November 23. That's the deadline.

Let me remind you how gargantuan a task we are talking about here. So our government owes its creditors close to $15 trillion. That is our national debt. This year, 2011, we will add another $1 trillion-plus debt, next year, 2012, another $1 trillion-plus debt. You're following me. You see the pattern.

So joining me now, Bob Cusack of "The Hill."

And, Bob, just gut check time. I mean, Congress punts to the super committee. Will the super committee punt back to Congress?

BOB CUSACK, "THE HILL": I think it's likely.

I think the super committee, it is going to be very difficult for them to get a deal and I think it is coming down to two people and that is Speaker John Boehner and that is Majority Leader Harry Reid, who struck a deal to avert a government shutdown.

Remember, this committee was picked by leadership officials, by Boehner, Reid and others, so this is so fluid, it is changing by the hour. There is an outside shot that they get a deal. And, remember, if they don't get a deal, there are automatic cuts that get triggered, including cut us to the Pentagon. Republicans don't want that.

A lot of Democrats, you talk to liberals on Capitol Hill, they are fine if those cuts are triggered. So, there's some incentive from the left not to get a deal. But this is going to go down to the wire. There is no doubt about it.

BALDWIN: I want to ask you a little bit more about the trigger mechanisms, but, first, I just want to show some of the numbers again, because it is really important for all us to wrap our heads around what they are handling.

Right now, with spending, about a fifth, a fifth of the federal budget on health care programs, take a look at the graphic here and follow me. This is the beige slice of the pie, and just as much on defense in orange. That's a slice of the pie that would take a hit. You mentioned defense. If the super committee, if they do nothing, those triggers kick in.

Let's listen together. You're going to hear from super committee co- chair Congressman Jeb Hensarling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS: A lot of people don't realize $1.2 trillion of deficit reduction is going to happen anyway. We would prefer to do it in a smarter fashion, and the 1.2, frankly, half of that is aimed at national security.

Leon Panetta, our secretary of defense, says that will hollow out our defense. So, number one, I would be committed to keeping the 1.2. We have got 13 months to find a smarter way to do it. I think the cuts that you are aimed at defense frankly go too far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I should point out, the congressman interview was last night on CNBC.

But he said we have 13 months to do it. Bob, does that sound like deadline talk to you?

CUSACK: No, it doesn't. Congress is very good at kicking the can down the road. BALDWIN: Heard that phrase before.

(CROSSTALK)

CUSACK: Yes. No. And they always do that.

And even if they do get a deal, it is going to be a minimal deal, $1.2 trillion, maybe $1.3, where they use some more savings, they use something a little bit out of health care. That's not a lot of money, as your chart shows, so I think it is not going to be a big deal, it's not going to be $3 trillion, $4 trillion that Speaker Boehner and President Obama were talking about. Even if they do get a deal, it is relatively small.

And if they don't, those cuts don't go into effect, as Hensarling mentioned, until 2013. And already there are a lot of Republicans who say they will try to avert those defense cuts, so maybe some of these cuts won't even happen. You really have to watch the credit rating agencies, because if there is no deal or if it is a weak deal, we could be seeing the stock market tumble in the wake of a credit downgrade.

BALDWIN: So here is something else I want to point out, and we mentioned a moment ago the CNN/ORC poll says a majority of Americans don't think that a deal will be reached. Let's break it down a little bit further here and it is Republicans here 42.

Basically, the question is, who be responsible if the super committee doesn't agree? Republicans, they are blaming Republicans, 42 percent blame, Democrats 32 percent.

What do you make of those numbers, Bob?

CUSACK: Well, I think that's why Republicans are nervous, and they are certainly pointing their fingers at Democrats. They are saying they are walking away from the deal.

Now, remember this summer, it was Republicans who were walking away from deals with President Obama. So Republicans are a bit nervous and Democrats feel like they have the upper hand because, unlike this summer and during the government showdown, that Republicans want to avert these cuts, so not getting a deal is bad for Republicans.

And Democrats say, well, there are some cuts to health care and education in this so-called trigger if they don't get an agreement, but they're not major reforms to Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. So, Democrats feel like, for once, they have the upper hand on Republicans, and they're saying, listen, Republicans have to decide, are they going to choose tax increases for millionaires or are they going to accept some cuts to defense, one or the other? Otherwise, they are not going to cave, they say.

BALDWIN: Speaking of taxes, what about the Grover Norquist factor, president of Americans for Tax Reform? Nearly every Republican signed his pledge not to raise taxes unless it comes with deep cuts.

How big of an impact is this pledge having on these super committee negotiations?

CUSACK: Brooke, it's totally huge.

BALDWIN: It's huge.

CUSACK: The Norquist pledge is a powerful force because if you break that pledge, then you are susceptible to a primary challenge on the Republican side.

Now, there have been some Republicans in recent days who have said, listen, I signed that pledge a long time ago. That doesn't mean I'm on it now.

But it's a big deal. So the big question is will they get a deal and then does it violate the Grover Norquist pledge? I mean, Speaker Boehner tried to downplay Grover Norquist's influence on the Republican Party by calling him some random person, but he also said that Republican leaders have assured him that they are not going to increase taxes.

So the White House has been very frustrated with the Republicans backing the pledge and not being able to crack it, but we have seen a couple cracks in recent days.

BALDWIN: Well, I know Reid said it was disheartening, that whole factor. And let's see if Boehner and Mr. Reid can pull something through here.

Bob Cusack of "The Hill," nice to meet you. Thanks for coming on.

CUSACK: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: It is the story a lot of you are still talking about. You have been tweeting me about it through the last 24 hours.

The story is this. This young girl, she kills herself after years of alleged sexual abuse. She left behind the words of pain, suffering and secrets all over her Twitter page. Coming up next, you're about to hear my emotional conversation with this young girl's mother. She talked to me about this investigation, including why the mother says police essentially ignored her daughter.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A lot of you tweeted me -- in fact, you're still tweeting me right now -- after we told the story of 18-year-old Ashley Billasano.

She sent out 144 tweets in the course of six hours last Monday detailing years of sexual abuse, the pain it caused her, and her struggle for justice.

And according to one tweet, the final straw really was this phone call. She talked about how apparently these authorities, according to Ashley, told her it was unlikely her alleged abuser would be prosecuted.

And I talked to Ashley's mother about the abuse and about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIFFANY RUIZ LESKINEN, MOTHER OF ASHLEY BILLASANO: She was devastated. She trusted this person.

That person was supposed to be the very one to protect her. And he is the one who hurt her. She -- it -- it was really bad. And it was a period of, you know, 3.5 years, and there was a lot over manipulation and control and -- over here and she felt like she really could not tell. She expressed to me if she even tried to tell, nobody would believe her and she, in fact, tried to reach out to her stepmother about two-and-a-half ago and to the Round Rock police and at that time, this dismissed it. Nobody went back to follow up on her.

BALDWIN: I want to ask you about that specifically, because I know that some of what she was tweeting about and perhaps the final straw for her, but during this three and a half-year time period you detailed, you never knew about that story, that period of time? You never then could yank her out of that situation and bring her home, is that correct?

LESKINEN: Which time? I'm sorry.

BALDWIN: The three and a half years of this alleged abuse, 14 through --

LESKINEN: No. No I did not know. She -- she seemed really -- from what she showed me, what she showed the rest of the family and her friends and her teachers, everyone, was that she was happy, that she was really well adjusted. She was really great about putting on a happy facade. So much so that we believed it, close to her, with her every single day, her friends, the Austin area, they had no idea.

BALDWIN: So I read that Ashley is 17, she has a boyfriend, and she finally feels comfortable enough to share with her boyfriend these stories of this alleged abuse. She then shares the information with a teacher, with child protective services. I want you to tell me about this -- the CPS worker, how this individual reacted to this teacher and Ashley's stories of abuse and also the detectives who were assigned to the case.

LESKINEN: She felt like she had to explain entirely -- it was almost as if they were treating her like she was the one under investigation instead of her being the victim. She felt like they were really insensitive to what had gone on and, you know, they say they do did what they could to protect her but she let her back into the home where she was abused, living with some of the people that lived with her at the time of her abuse.

And I did not get a phone call. They say that they tried to call me. Ashley was secluded. She had her cell phone taken away from her. She had her laptop taken away from her. She could not talk to her sisters there. She has two little sisters that live in Round Rock, she could not speak to them. And everything, this is what she told me, so she couldn't reach out to me. I had to hear it from her boyfriend.

BALDWIN: So tragic. We reached out to Child Protective Services, and here is what they told to us, quote, "We conducted a thorough five- month investigation interviewing 11 individuals who we believed might have had relevant information to share with us. As a result of that investigation, we were unable to confirm that abuse had occurred," end quote. CPS says it is taking a second look at the case to ensure that Ashley's siblings are not being abused.

Coming up next, the fate of four men hanging in the balance. A judge will soon decide whether convicted killers should be let off the hook after new evidence surfaces. We will tell you what it is.

Plus, a guy sits in court, stabs his lawyer with a pencil, does the same thing to the second lawyer, and the third one, well, just hear what happens even after the suspect was put in restraints. Sunny Hostin is on the case. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A 17-year-old murder case that put these four teenagers in prison busted wide open because DNA evidence points to a different killer, a man who was shot and killed three years ago. Sunny Hostin is on the case. Sunny, those men were teenagers then. Today they are obviously adults asking a judge to vacate their convictions. The judge was supposed to issue a ruling this hour. Do we know anything? Any word?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: No word yet, but of course this is a case that sort of captured national headlines. Everyone is looking at this case. The Innocence Project is involved. We know that they have been pretty successful and pretty successful in Cook County in Chicago where this took place. I have been told that Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern says there have been more than 100 exonerations in Illinois since 1989, Brooke. And of those, 31 involved new DNA evidence. And that's the case here.

Interestingly enough, all of them were convicted. They all confessed, but there was no DNA evidence linking them to the crime, only their confessions. Many of them are now -- all of them are now saying that those confessions were coerced. The judge is struggling with that fact and on the, judges really do struggle with coerced confessions and false confessions, but they do happen and they do certainly happen when you have young people being interrogated by police. So a case certainly that we are watching, Brooke, I don't know yet what the judge will decide but I will let you know as soon as I hear.

BALDWIN: Just quickly, because I'm curious, has DNA testing in the past exposed a number of false confessions?

HOSTIN: Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, the Innocence Project has done incredible work in this area. And there have been 25 documented false confession cases leading to wrongful convictions in Cook County, in particular. So this is something that does happen and sort of the miracle of DNA testing now and the DNA evidence. It has exonerated many people. It's also convicted many people. So it's I think sort of the wave of the future in terms of these types of cases.

BALDWIN: Right, with DNA.

This next story, I got to be honest, I didn't believe it when I heard it. Washington State, let me set it up. So this man facing felony drug charges, allegedly gets assigned a lawyer, lawyer number one. Stabs him with a pencil this guy smuggled out of jail. Gets lawyer number two stabs him with a pencil he smuggled out of jail. Gets number three, the guy grabs the lawyer's pen, allegedly stabbed lawyer number three in the side of the head.

Judge says, OK, you don't get any more lawyers. So this guy has to represent himself, got do it -- Hannibal Lecter style, in a restraint chair, because he was, I guess, persuasion toward pencils. Here is a question for you -- can a judge really take away one's right to legal representation?

HOSTIN: Well, you always have the right to be represented, but that right, of course, isn't absolute, and the judge has the discretion to allow you to represent yourself with standby counsel. That's what's happening here.

I mean, this is a tough job, right, being an attorney. I'm just so surprised he got three chances to attack his lawyers. And I wonder if there's some sort of mental issue going on, some sort of psychological issue going on. What's interesting is that he was found competent to stand trial. He has also been charged with murder. So this is a very violent person, clearly. But there must be something going on here because you just don't go and attack your lawyers. People do do that. Not me. I haven't been attacked, thankfully.

BALDWIN: Hang on, so we know the guy was convicted. Does he have grounds to appeal?

HOSTIN: You know, I don't think so. I mean, certainly, do you have the right to defense counsel. But I just -- I can't imagine given these circumstances and given the fact that he had not one, not two, but three attorneys and he attacked all three of them, did he have stand by counsel, I would imagine it is going to come up on appeal, but I don't think he is going to be victorious in that sense.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you.

And next, as Newt Gingrich rises, so do questions about his past, including this accusation that he got paid to lobby on behalf of Freddie Mac.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did no lobbying of any kind. That's all I got to say about it. That's all I got to say about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Find out how the former House speaker explains his role at Freddie. Also Gingrich reveals his campaign mistakes.

Plus, Wolf Blitzer in studio with me today. We're going to will find out why he is in Atlanta. We have cooked up a little fun, a little surprise for him. Don't miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Former House speaker and Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is firing back against these accusations that he lobbied for Freddie Mac. He says his role with the mortgage giant was purely as a strategic adviser. Listen to his exchange with reporters in Iowa just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: I offered strategic advice over a long period of time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much did you spend, like on a monthly basis, doing that kind of work? Seems like a lot of money?

GINGRICH: We have to go back and look. First of all, it wasn't paid to me. The Gingrich Group was a consulting firm that had lots of people doing things. And we offered strategic advice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't obtain --

GINGRICH: Sure, but I don't know the amounts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it $1.6 million figure correct?

GINGRICH: I don't know, go back and check.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like a whole lot more than just being a historian then.

GINGRICH: I was speaker of the House and strategic adviser.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you also consult with Fannie?

GINGRICH: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just Freddie?

GINGRICH: Just Freddie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Gingrich's standing among Republicans in recent weeks, we've shown you the poll, CNN/ORC poll, now number two among top Republican hopefuls there, surprising considering how many people were writing off his campaign just this past summer.

CNN political correspondent Jim Acosta caught one Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail in Iowa. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Meet the GOP's latest fresh face, Newt Gingrich.

GINGRICH: Yesterday afternoon in Jefferson, Iowa, somebody introduced me as the front-runner.

ACOSTA: Yes, the same Gingrich who was once a dead candidate walking now has a shot at the GOP nomination. Drawing big crowds in Iowa, he is candid about his near-death political experience when his entire senior staff abandoned him all at once last summer.

(on camera) Did you feel dead?

GINGRICH: No. I felt desperate, but I didn't feel dead. I've done this for 53 years. And the two hardest months of my career were June and July.

I am the only candidate running who has actually led at the national level.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But with Gingrich, humility has its limits. In assessing what initially went wrong with his campaign, he compared himself to two conservative giants.

(on camera) And where did you go wrong?

GINGRICH: Oh, I think that it was a big mistake on my part to try to bring in conventional consultants, because I am much like Reagan and Margaret thatcher, I am such an unconventional political figure that you really need to design a very unique campaign that fits the way I operate and what I'm trying to do.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Gingrich has climbed in the polls by outshining many of his rivals at the GOP debates and by selling ideas that sometimes veer from Tea Party doctrine. For example, Gingrich would spend billions on a new federal brain science project to find cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

GINGRICH: The best way to control the cost of Medicare is to defeat the diseases so people stay healthy.

ACOSTA: But in nearly the same breath, Gingrich rails against the Washington establishment.

GINGRICH: The Washington establishment model is pain and austerity.

ACOSTA: Despite being a creature of the capitol for nearly three decades.

(on camera) You are not a creature of Washington?

GINGRICH: No.

ACOSTA: How long have you lived outside of Washington since your days as speaker?

GINGRICH: I haven't. I've lived in McClain, Virginia, for a practical reason. I do work -- I did work at the central intelligence agency, I did work at the Pentagon.

ACOSTA: But critics might say you are a creature of Washington, if you've spent all of these years --

GINGRICH: You can call me anything you want to, all right? None of my policy proposals represent the Washington establishment.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Ultimately Gingrich wants voters to judge him not on his past, such as his previous marital difficulties, but on what his campaign website calls "the new Newt."

(on camera): But because this is the new Newt that we're seeing here, the Newt Gingrich?

GINGRICH: Go back and get the "TIME" magazine cover in 1994 where they had me as Scrooge holding Tiny Tim's broken crutch. And the title was "How mean will Gingrich's America be to the poor?" I mean, one of the things the elite media did was it created a caricature of me so that when people finally saw me in debates, they said that can't be Newt Gingrich, because, in fact, I'm very different from the media imagery.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Another telling sign of Gingrich's sudden surge, he plans to open up his first campaign office in Iowa next week and he has an infusion of campaign cash to work with after raising nearly $3 million in just the last month.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Sheffield, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Tuesday tight on CNN, the Republicans running for president will hold another debate this time steps away from the White House. The Republican national security debate co-sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American enterprise institute, it starts at 8:00 eastern Tuesday night hosted by Mr. Wolf Blitzer.

He is fluent in French, he cooks, and is a graduate of Georgetown. "People" magazine voted him this year's sexiest man alive. It is -- this man, Bradley Cooper. Now, we are about to take you through a list of the past five winners. So last year, voted sexiest, Ryan Reynolds. In 2009, it went to Mr. Johnny Depp, and the year before, the winner was Hugh Jackman. So testing your knowledge today, can you remember who was voted sexiest alive in '06 and '07? You will hear them after this.

And how about that for a segue to this guy, Wolf Blitzer in the studio. Um, yes. Mrs. Blitzer says yes. I know Mrs. Blitzer. Got a little surprise for you coming you up.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thank you.

BALDWIN: We are going to tell you the folks why you're here, next.

BLITZER: Big story.

BALDWIN: Be afraid. He's cooking something up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Goodness, if you only knew what we talked about on commercial breaks. We just found out the Bradley Cooper is "People" magazine's 2011 sexiest man alive. And we've been taking you down memory lane, giving you the list of some of the guy who is went before -- 2010, Ryan Reynolds, 09, Johnny Depp. Before that is Hugh Jackman. In 07 Mr. Matt Damon, 06, the sexiest man alive was none other than George Clooney.

But I have a little bit of an issue with "People" because I think it should have been this. Cue the magazine.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: I agree. They missed the boat. They obviously didn't understand. Our sister publication, "People" magazine, part of the same Time Warner.

BALDWIN: They kind of missed the boat this year. I'll do what I can, next year, Wolf Blitzer, the cover. Hi, good to see you.

BLITZER: Good to be here in Atlanta for a special reason. You know why I come to Atlanta this time of the year every year.

BALDWIN: We couldn't tell the people when I was in "THE SITUATION ROOM" last week. Now we can say.

BLITZER: We know why I'm here and I tweeted about it earlier.

BALDWIN: And we've pulled up your tweets.

BLITZER: It's @WolfBlitzerCNN.

BALDWIN: You're here because of the BET Soul Train Awards.

BLITZER: Tomorrow night we're taping the BET Soul Train Awards at Fox Theatre here in Atlanta, and it will air on Centric and BET the Sunday after thanksgiving. That's me, Cedrick the Entertainer and me. We've got good stuff coming up. You remember last year?

BALDWIN: Of course. Can we talk about last year?

BLITZER: You see the guy standing next to me, Paxton Baker in the red, he's in charge of the whole thing. He's a good friend of mine from Washington.

BALDWIN: So last year was the Dougie. Do we have a new guest?

BLITZER: We have Dougie Fresh and you know, we're friends, but we're not going to do the Dougie. We've got something else. BALDWIN: I've got sources who tell me you've been cooking up something new.

BLITZER: We've got something. People are going to have to watch the Soul Train Awards, or maybe somebody will tweet about it.

BALDWIN: I think it will be tweeted about.

BLITZER: We're going to go. We're going to have some fun, some laughs, good music. Maybe you'll come if you want.

BALDWIN: Who turns down Wolf Blitzer for a day at the BET Soul Rrain Awards. I'll find a dress today.

I guess we should talk about your show.

BLITZER: Yes. Coming up at the top here, Jon Huntsman, the Republican presidential candidate, he's going to be joining us live. Nick Kristof of "The New York Times" on the Occupy Wall Street stuff that's going on in New York. We have got a lot of good stuff, and this whole story about Newt Gingrich, new information you've been reporting as well. So he's one of the front-runners. You want to be the president of the United States people are going to start looking at everything.

BALDWIN: Scrutinizing everything. His poll numbers have been looking good. We'll look for you in five minutes time. Wolf Blitzer, thank you.

BLITZER: Still a couple of minutes left of me, so we're going to talk about Regis Philbin. Next week, we're going to interview him. On today's show, Regis he had a big time visitor. Joe Johns is next with your Political Pop. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Political Pop now. Bet you haven't heard of this. We certainly hadn't. Presidential insurance policy for crocodile attacks. Yep, apparently it exists. Joe Johns has the details. Have you ever heard of this?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no. This is completely new, Brooke. He's supposed to get this insurance when he arrives in the northern territory of Australia, land of the salt water crocs. And you're thinking, seriously? I mean, first of all, you think that being president of the United States with all the Secret Service protection not to mention the military people being deployed to Australia, you wouldn't need $50,000 worth of crocodile insurance while visiting the country. So no, it's not like it's a requirement or anything.

But what it's really starting to smell like is a brilliant promotional stunt making the point that this is the land of Crocodile Dundee and so on. It doesn't pay off in a nonfatal injury. This insurance has been sold in Australia for about two decades or so. And I have to tell you the story has really made the rounds very quickly, forced me to call around asking about crocodile insurance. Just for fun we e- mailed the U.S. Secret Service and the White House National Security Office about this. So far they're not playing along with the joke, haven't gotten back to me. I wonder why.

BALDWIN: I love that we get Joe Johns, who's covered Congress on the Hill for years, has to make a phone call on crocodile insurance. That's why we love you.

JOHNS: They laugh at me. They don't know how to respond though.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: OK, we'll move on. Question number two, Regis Philbin, I believe tomorrow is his last day on the show, Regis and Kelly. And so the vice president made a surprise visit today.

JOHNS: Right, right. Joe Biden in New York for a couple fundraisers, apparently dropped in to give Regis Philbin a big send off. Regis is retiring, yes, on Friday, after 28 years in the anchor chair, long time. The vice president dropped in with some tennis balls, golf balls, and some type of canvas bag that looked like it had a White House seal on it. You have to wonder if that represents some of the swag the White House is going to get rid of to save money.

But yes, a big send off for him and as a matter of fact of fact, I hear you're going to interview Regis, what, next week?

BALDWIN: Next Friday, day after Thanksgiving, Reg and Brooke time. He's out with his new book. So I've got some homework this weekend, got to read Regis' new book. And yes, next weekend, next Friday, we'll be talking to Regis Philbin.

JOHNS: Much see -- must see TV for a long time.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. He's hilarious. Joe Johns, so are you. Thank you so much.

JOHNS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Without further ado, Wolf Blitzer in the studio. Wolf, take it away.