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Noriega Back in Panama; Sparks Fly in Iowa; President Obama Invokes GOP Presidents in Speeches; Will Hillary Clinton Run?; Newt Gingrich Labels Palestinians "Invented"; Jon Huntsman Introduces a Plan for Restoring Trust in Washington

Aired December 11, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're going to look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this political hour.

But first an update on some of the day's top stories. Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is on a flight right now, destination Panama. Noriega spent 22 years in prison in the United States and France. Today he's being extradited from France back to his home land to face kidnapping and murder charges.

And Los Angeles police have identified the man in this terrifying video. It shows 26-year-old Tyler Brem shooting into cars on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood Friday. Apparently at random. They still don't know what motivated this rampage in which Brem wounded three people. Responding police officers shot Brem. He later died at a hospital.

Across town rivalry in Cincinnati turns violent on the court with just seconds left in the game. A huge brawl breaks out in the basketball game between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. A Cincinnati player threw a punch at a Xavier player. That actually drew blood and then there was this statement coming from a Xavier player after the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TU HOLLOWAY, XAVIER BASKETBALL PLAYER: You know, that's what you're going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati. And we got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We're a tougher team. We're grown men over here. We got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room, not thugs but tough guys on the court. We went out there and zipped them up after the game. That's our motto, zip them is up, and that's what we just did to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Because of NCAA rules, there may be several suspensions after officials review the game tape.

All right, now to the race for the White House. With just over three weeks until the Iowa caucuses, six of the seven candidates took to the debate stage in that pivotal state, trying to put some clarity on where they stand on a host of issues from political careers to marital fidelity and flip-flopping. For the two leading candidates, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, it was a real test of composure. Here's Michele Bachmann on the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at Newt, Romney, they were for Obama care principles. If you look at Newt, Romney, they were for cap and trade. If you look at Newt, Romney, they were for the illegal immigration problem. And if you look at Newt, Romney, they were for the $700 billion bailout. And you just heard Newt, Romney is also with Obama on the issue of the payroll extensions. So if you want a difference, Michele Bachmann is the proven conservative. It is not Newt, Romney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And then it was Gingrich's turn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's be candid. The only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now wait a second. Now wait a second. That's -

GINGRICH: I mean -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll get another response.

GINGRICH: Do I get to -

ROMNEY: Please, please.

GINGRICH: I looked and I thought, I'm a citizen, I've served the country in many ways. You're a citizen, you served the country in many ways. But it is a bit much. You have been a 17-year career politician by now if you had won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But when Rick Perry accused Mitt Romney of flip-flopping on health care reform, the stakes got higher with a free for all, punctuated by rhetorical or literal wager. You decide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm listening to you, Mitt, and I'm hearing you say all the right things, but I read your first book, and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country. I know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, I'm just saying, you're for individual mandates, my friend.

ROMNEY: You know what, you raised that before, Rick. And it was true then -

PERRY: Don't, don't, it is true now.

ROMNEY: Rick, I'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet?

PERRY: I'm not in the betting business, but -

ROMNEY: OK. OK.

PERRY: I'll show you the book.

ROMNEY: I've got the book.

PERRY: I'll show it to you.

ROMNEY: And I wrote the book and I Have it. In chapter seven, there is a section called the Massachusetts model. And I say as close as I can quote, I say in my view, each state should be able to fashion their own program for the specific needs of their distinct citizens. And then I go on to talk about the states being the laboratories of democracy and we can learn from one another. I have not said in that book first edition or the latest edition anything about our plan being a national model imposed on the nation.

The right course for America and I said this during the debates last time around, I'll say it now and time again, is to let individual states - this is a remarkable nation, this idea of federalism is so extraordinary, let states craft their own solutions. Don't have Obama care put on us by the federal government.

BACHMANN: George and Diane, can I just say something? This is such an important issue. We have one shot to get rid of Obama care. That's it. It is 2012. Do we honestly believe that two men, who just stood on this stage and defended Romney care when it was put in place in Massachusetts and the individual mandate when he proposed it in 1993, are they honestly going to get rid of it in 2012? This is going to be a very -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: yes.

BACHMANN: I don't think so. There is going to be a very - it is going to be a very heavy lift.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, this is not about what you say at a debate or what you say in a campaign when you're talking to audiences that you want to get - that you know what they want to hear. Back in 1994, Newt, I was running for the United States Senate and I did not support an individual mandate and I was a conservative. I supported something called medical savings accounts that I drafted with John Kasich when I was in the House because I believe in bottom up solving the problems of America, not top down government solutions.

That's what I learned. I actually learned some of it in listening to some of your Go Pac tapes, but you strayed on that issue as you have on others. The record is important. What the question was about a consistent conservative, well you can't talk about whether someone is consistent unless you look at their record. I would agree with Michele, I mean I think Michele has been consistent as a consistent conservative. But she's been fighting and losing.

I fought and won. I was in the United States Senate and I fought and passed welfare reform. I was the principle author when I was in the United States House and managed the bill on the floor of the United States Senate. I was the leader on pro-life issues and pro-family issues and I fought those issues and endured tough debates and won.

I went out and fought on that national security issues, conservative things like putting sanctions on Iran and, again, the consistent track record of being there when good times and in bad, and I think you heard the difference, you're not going to hear them talk about all the positions I took and flip-flopped on, I was there, I led, and I won. And if you're looking for someone who can be a consistent conservative, and there is others on this platform, but it can lead the fight, win the issues and, plus, win in states that are important for us to win elections like Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about the debate last night. Let's bring in CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Des Moines and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joining us from Washington. All right. Good to see both of you, gentlemen. So clearly, you know, Romney and Gingrich are the targets since they're the front-runners. Did either one of them uniquely distinguish themselves last night? Paul, you first.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, I think, Fred, we all knew that, you know, Newt Gingrich would come under attack. Yes, he's the front-runner now. That's what changed since the last debate which was about three weeks ago, our CNN debate in Washington, D.C. and yes, he did come under attack. He did play some of the sound from the debate. I think the general consensus is that the former House Speaker did no harm to his front-runner status here in Iowa, the first state to vote in the primary caucus calendar and he's also front runner in the national polls.

He had a good response to almost every attack, be it his conservative credentials and his being tainted as a career politician, to his controversial comments on the Palestinian people as being an invented people, that controversy from two days ago, even to his marital infidelity, which also came up during the debate. It seems each time Newt Gingrich had a pretty good response, Mitt Romney, I think the reviews are a little less positive for him. Some people saying that that bet, you just played that back and forth between him and Rick Perry, that the bet may have hurt him as he's trying to, as a multimillionaire, trying to reach out to average Americans. The $10,000 bet seems a little steep. Democrats were quick to tack Romney on that, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Ron, you agree with that, that Gingrich came across more controlled, calm and Romney, even though he's a little bit more aggressive perhaps, he took an unnecessary risk by posing a $10,000 wager?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think it was a better night for Newt Gingrich than Mitt Romney. There is so much about the race that was encapsulated in those few clips that you played. You know, conservatives, movement conservatives are the predominant faction in the Republican Party. No question about it. But as Michele Bachmann's complaint kind of suggested, they're in the anomalous position where the two leading candidates in the race are both men with whom they are not entirely comfortable for different reasons. And that is a reality here.

You have Gingrich, the right consolidating around Gingrich as its best opportunity to stop Mitt Romney, but yet, as Rick Santorum said, on a number of issues, he has taken positions over the course of his career that they disagree with. I completely agree with Paul. I thought that Gingrich was calm, collected. He struck a good balance between being deliberative, but not being cavalier, particularly when we got to that very - could have been a very difficult moment for him about acknowledge marital infidelity and he basically said, "Look, you know, I made mistakes, but I'm now 68 years old. I'm a grandfather, you have to judge me by who I am today." That's an argument that extends well beyond that specific issue. And I think probably covers a lot of the broader criticism of him as Speaker of the House.

WHITFIELD: OK. We're going to talk more about that infidelity issue and that question a little bit later on this hour too. Let's talk about Ron Paul, because he, apparently, is really courting the independent vote. And some analysts have been saying that the turnout in his Iowa appearances far exceed that of Romney and Gingrich. Paul, you're there in Iowa, might Iowa be crowning a new caucus leader in this race and might it be a Ron Paul?

STEINHAUSER: And I got to say, Fred, first of all, so it's a very mild day here, this is December in Iowa. This is pretty mild day, almost 40 degrees and sunny out. So we're enjoying this weather. It may not last. But yes, I was talking to one of Ron Paul's senior advisers this morning and also last night after the debate. They're very happy with their situation right now.

And you saw the congressman from Texas being pretty aggressive again last night, against Gingrich. We have seen that for a couple of days now. Ron Paul has a strong organization out here. Some people say he may have the strongest get out the vote effort in the state. That's the key. Three weeks from Tuesday, it is how many people you can get to the caucus sites from your supporters. Ron Paul's campaign pretty strong out here, he's about 15 or 16 percent in our most recent poll here in Iowa, third place, just a few points behind Mitt Romney, they're very happy where they are here and in New Hampshire, which is the second state to vote, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And you know, Ron, you know, later on this week there will be another debate, it being on Fox News. There has been an awful lot of discussion about the Trump debate as well. Only two of the contenders have actually committed to it. Do you suppose it will happen or why are so many contenders staying away from it? BROWNSTEIN: Not clear. Well, Donald Trump is first and foremost about Donald Trump. So I think all of the candidates are understandably leery about being extras in his show. And it is not clear whether the debate will come off or not. You know, by at that point, it is unclear what the impact would be. I mean the risk I think for Romney is that we'll see what this next debate does, but this could have been the best chance to change the dynamic in Iowa before the caucus and as all of the polls have shown Gingrich has moved out into the lead.

I kind of wonder if Romney campaign will kind of reassess how deeply they invest in Iowa and may put more priority on trying to shore up that firewall in New Hampshire because certainly if both of those states fall, same person hasn't won both of them in a contested Republican race since 1976, if New Hampshire fell that would be catastrophic for Romney.

WHITFIELD: OK, thanks so much, Ron. And Paul, we're going to see you a little bit later on this evening. Thanks so much for being with us. Ron, you and I, in a moment, we're going to talk more about the candidates' stance on fidelity. But first, speaking of that Trump debate, NBC "Saturday Night Live" got in on that story last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think so many of the GOP have decided against attending?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's a question of cowardice versus courage. Newt Gingrich isn't afraid to come. He's got guts. Rick Santorum has ev3en more guts because, let's face it, the guy is a real loser.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. He's a lightweight, yet he still has the guts to come. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, they should be ashamed of themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some say the candidates aren't coming because you haven't ruled out running yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I won't rule out a run, Greta. Especially if the party nominates a joke candidate like Ron Paul or Jon Huntsman or Rick Santorum here. Rick, I'm talking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the special hour of the "CNN Newsroom." we're taking this time out every Sunday to let you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders as they go head to head. A lot of sparks were flying at last night's Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

Let's bring back CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein in Washington. So, Ron, the question of fidelity came up at the debate. The question posed by the forum was, should voters consider marital fidelity when making their choice for president? And all the candidates answered, including Perry and Gingrich. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: If you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn't you cheat on your business partner or why wouldn't you cheat on anybody for that matter?

GINGRICH: I made mistakes at times. I had to go to god for forgiveness, I had to seek reconciliation. But I'm also a 68-year-old grandfather and I think people have to measure who I am now and whether I'm a person they can trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Ron, with Newt Gingrich's three marriages, he was easy prey, but it didn't appear as though that candidates really seized on that. Did they?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think any candidate is reluctant to be too much of the moralistic finger pointer. You know, look, we know that most Americans believe, as Robert Penn Warren wrote greatly in "All the King's Men" 60 years ago, there is always something, that all of us have something in our lives we don't want on the front page of the local newspaper. We saw that with the Bill Clinton impeachment in a way that Americans reacted. Against that backdrop, we saw Perry go about as far as a candidate does in trying to use Gingrich's acknowledged history of infidelity as a way of saying to voters, that you can't really trust this guy as president.

But as I said before, I thought Gingrich's answer may have been his most effective moment of the night. He was neither dismissive, nor defensive. He was kind of acknowledged that this would trouble some voters, but basically made a strong case, "I'm a different person today than I was then." And as I said I think that case he will try to apply a variety of criticisms, particularly his leadership style as Speaker of the House, which maybe a greater vulnerability in the long run than these questions about his personal life.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like the way in which he handled that almost humanized him in a way that perhaps no other sound bite from him has done before?

BROWNSTEIN: That's a really good point. I completely agree. I think, you know, he made the case that many people can relate to in their own life of journey and coming to a different place and as I said, I mean, people understand that everyone has done something that they don't want to read on the front page of the local, much less a national newspaper, and the question is the lessons you take from the mistakes in your life and what Gingrich, I think, is trying to argue is that, you know, a lot of the criticism that he will face in effect is aimed at a different person. He is not that person now. Now whether people believe that as much on the leadership and political kind of positioning front as they do on the personal front is another question.

But I do think that the history of the Clinton impeachment, and other scandals involving politicians is that most people recognize that we're all flawed and that they try to judge political leaders not only by what they do at their lowest moments, but also what they're capable at their best moments.

WHITFIELD: So composure, you know, has meant a whole lot here. Do you suppose that Newt Gingrich has been working very hard to kind of show that he's on point, that he's not a loose cannon as many in the Republican establishment say they're a little nervous about him, because they're not quite sure what he's going to say next, how he's going to behave?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, to some extent as there was a Newt Nixon in the '60s, this is a new Newt this is a more composed Newt Gingrich. His history is usually causing most problems right at the moment that he's at his greatest success. You know, the easy analogy in the last few weeks has been that he's kind of an icarus like figure, who you know, the wings melt when he gets closest to the sun. Now it is not that he has completely, you know, moved past this problem. He has a tendency to express himself in very (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: We saw that a couple of days on the Jewish channel.

BROWNSTEIN: Exactly right. I mean, you go back to the 1990s, and called Bill and Hillary Clinton the enemies of normal Americans. Even the spring, directing fire at conservatives, when he said Paul Ryan's plan was right wing social engineering and obviously the very kind of incendiary comments about the Palestinians, which I think we'll address later. But that is part of the package with Newt Gingrich and that's part of the question the Republicans will be asking themselves, whether they're comfortable with someone with that kind of history and inclination both as a nominee and even more so as a president.

WHITFIELD: So it seemed like last night many of the camps were trying really hard not to have any gaffes or not to implode. This following week or last week, we actually saw a couple of instances where there were some things said or ads rolled out which really could heighten the risk for some of the candidates. I'm talking about Rick Perry and, you know, with his ad, comparing gays in the military to prayer in school. And then also Mitt Romney just last night with that $10,000 wager.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, poor Rick Perry is pouring a huge ad buy into Iowa and he launches it with an appearance at the Des Moines Register Editorial Board in which he seems, he not only misremembers the name of Justice Sotomayor but seems to incorrectly number the amount of justices on the Supreme Court, reducing it to eight. There is an explanation for that, but those were the headlines again.

And his ad itself is clearly aimed at that large social conservative bloc in Iowa, 60 percent of caucus goers in 2000 were self-described evangelical Christians. The problem is, I think it is an inherently limiting ad It really closes off, I think, his ability to grow beyond that constituency and certainly for Mitt Romney, that bet will be the lasting moment of the campaign. And I think not only the Democrats if he gets the general election, but other Republicans will use it to kind of make the case that this is not someone in touch with the problems of average Americans, because most people don't settle an argument by saying they're going to reach into their wallet to put down a $10,000 bet. That's not kind of the way things go on Sunday afternoon during most football games.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ron, thanks so much. We're going to talk again, we'll talk about the White House strategy and how it is pursuing the race for 2012 as well momentarily.

Meantime, the primary season, it does kick off just about three weeks away in Iowa. We'll look at some polls and some of the early states in the primary and caucus season.

But first, funny man David Letterman's thoughts on some GOP hopefuls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Yes, things are getting weird with the Republicans. Mitt Romney now said that the gloves are coming off. That's Mitt, tough guy Mitt, the gloves are - the gloves are coming off. And then Ron Paul said, my teeth are coming out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Iowa caucuses launch the 2012 primary season on January 3rd, right around the corner. So with decision day now just three weeks away, where do the Republican candidates stand? Let's look at the latest CNN "Time" magazine poll. On the first four states to hold primaries in the new year, take a look at Iowa, Newt Gingrich is leading the pack as the likely choice for a GOP nominee with 33 percent, followed by Mitt Romney with 20 percent, but Ron Paul is a close third with 17 percent. In New Hampshire, the lead changes, 35 percent of voters there support Romney as the choice for GOP nominee. Gingrich has 26 percent of the vote and Paul with 17 percent.

And in South Carolina, it is shaping up to be a two-man race for the nomination. Gingrich has the lead with 43 percent. Romney with 20 percent. And then on to the ever so valuable Florida, 48 percent of primary voters say Gingrich is their likely choice. Romney gets 25 percent.

So what do these polls mean for the GOP candidates? Our John King breaks down the numbers state by state.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we know that Newt Gingrich leads in three of the first four states on the calendar. He leads in Iowa, second in New Hampshire. Gingrich leads in South Carolina and he leads in Florida.

Let's take a closer look within the Republican Party at some of the key constituencies, particularly evangelical voters. This is Iowa. Again, Gingrich is in the lead. Why? Because he's running best among all of the candidates among those who describe themselves, identify as born again Christians. The evangelical vote is split if you notice here. But Gingrich is ahead, mostly because he's the leader in that group.

Let's move on to the state of New Hampshire. Not that many evangelical voters in New Hampshire, but you have a moderate conservative split and that's the big reason why Romney is leading. Look at this, Romney is leading at 35 percent overall, Gingrich second with 26. Why? They're about even among those who say I'm a conservative Republican but among those who say I'm a moderate or liberal Republican, look at big Romney lead there, that's the big difference in the state of New Hampshire now.

If you move on to South Carolina, about half of the voters in South Carolina's primary four years ago, Republican side, identified themselves as born again Christians or evangelicals. Gingrich, way ahead in the state, why? He's clocking Romney among voters who call themselves conservatives, especially among voters who call themselves evangelical, born again Christians. Look at that big lead for Gingrich there. Those not considered - do not consider themselves born again, Romney is closer, but Gingrich still well ahead there. Those are big numbers among conservatives and evangelicals.

Florida votes fourth. Again, this sounds like a broken record. Gingrich way ahead, splitting the moderate vote. What is helping Gingrich in Florida? Again, clocking Romney among self-identified conservatives, especially among born again Christians, more than two to one, Gingrich leads Romney in Florida among evangelical voters.

So keep your eye on that constituency. Here's one other thing though to keep your eye on. This is just Florida. We asked voters there, do you definitely support your candidate or might you change your mind? More than half of the voters in Florida say they might change their mind. Similar numbers in South Carolina and in New Hampshire. So as you study these first four states, remember, Iowa votes first. It has a history of surprises. Once that surprise happens, the later states tend to reshuffle a bit. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, John.

Jobs and the economy are big issues again in the 2012 campaign. President Barack Obama is rebuffing GOP arguments that he is engaged in class warfare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare. It is about making choices that benefit not just the people who have done fantastically well over the last few decades, but that benefits the middle class. And those fighting to get into the middle class. And the economy as a whole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to this special hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. We're focusing on politics, allowing you to hear from the 2012 presidential contenders in their own words.

Encouraging news for President Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich in two early primary states. In the fight for the Republican nomination, an NBC Marist Poll shows President Obama would beat Gingrich or Romney in South Carolina and Florida. In hypothetical match ups in South Carolina, President Obama leads Gingrich 46 percent to 42 percent. And he leads Romney 45 percent to 42 percent. In Florida, the president would beat Gingrich 51 to 39 percent. And he leads Romney, 48 percent to 41 percent.

Early last week President Obama took a trip to Kansas where he talked about jobs and the economy and he invoked past presidents including Republicans, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, in a bid to move the country beyond partisanship. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: This country should not be known for bad debt and phony profits. We should be known for creating and selling products all around the world that are stamped with three proud words, made in America.

Today, manufacturers and other companies are setting up shop in the places with the best infrastructure to ship their products, move their workers, and communicate with the rest of the world. And that's why the over 1 million construction workers who lost their jobs when the housing market collapsed, they shouldn't be sitting at home with nothing to do. They should be rebuilding our roads and our bridges, laying down faster railroads and broadband, modernizing our schools. All the things other countries are already doing to attract good jobs and businesses to their shores.

Yes, business and not government will always be the primary generator of good jobs with incomes that lift people into the middle class and keep them there. But as a nation, we have always come together, through our government, to help create the conditions where both workers and businesses can succeed. And historically that hasn't been a partisan idea. Franklin Roosevelt worked with Democrats and Republicans to give veterans of World War II, including my grandfather, Stanley Dun, the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. It was a Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, proud son of Kansas, who -

(Applause)

Who started the interstate highway system, and doubled down on science and research to stay ahead of the Soviets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein is with us again from Washington. So Ron, ask you about the polls that we just saw in a few minutes because I know you doubt them in a big way, but first, you know, the Democratic base, they wanted the president to give this type of speech in Kansas. Why?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, because I think it really underscores the -- both the ideological and economic arguments they want to make. In that clip you heard, the president affirming that he believes there needs to be an activist roll for government both in policing the market and in trying to create the building blocks of opportunity for average American and reaching back to Teddy Roosevelt who gave one of most famous speeches of the 20th century in Kansas in August 1910, his new nationalism speech, making the similar argument that government had to be more involved to check the power of concentrated wealth.

Look that ensures a sharp ideological divide with whoever the Republican nominee is, because they are all running on the argument that the key to national revival is retrenching government, less spending, less taxes, less regulation, and if you look at the specifics of their agenda, they're probably talking about a bigger rollback of government than any Republican candidate since at least Ronald Reagan, 1980 and arguably Barry Goldwater in 1964.

And the other thing the president did was really emphasize the trends toward income polarization and equality and perhaps even more importantly the decline in the ability of people to move from one level to another level in our society. These are arguments that Democrats have wanted to hear him press and in a populous way. They're not politically cost free, but he certainly identified with them as closely as he has at any point in his presidency this week.

WHITFIELD: OK. So back to those polls again, very positive for the Obama White House, showing that he would beat Romney, he would beat Gingrich in South Carolina and Florida, according to those polls. Why don't you buy that?

BROWNSTEIN: If he wins South Carolina, the rubble will bounce as they say. In the spirit of the weekend, I bet you $10,000 on South Carolina. Democrats have won it only once since 1968. The large minority population does get them within range. Obama got to 45 percent as I recall. But the white population is as reliably Republican and conservative really as anywhere in the south.

Florida is a genuine swing state. It is one of the places that will probably decide the presidency. It has become a microcosm of the new America, shaped by growing diversity. But that particular poll was much more favorable for the president than most surveys out of Florida, which show him competitive, certainly not out of reach for him, but the idea that it would be as easy as that poll suggests is probably wishful thinking for Democrats.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron thanks so much. You know, we're going to be talking about Hillary Clinton and her name keeps surfacing as it pertains to the run for the White House. What might her next move be? Well, CNN actually talked to an insider about her, her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: A lot of what she has done as secretary of state, a lot of that she can continue to do, so I look forward to the next chapter in her life. I'm very proud of her. And if she wanted to stay in public life, I would strongly support it. But, you know --

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: another run for president?

CLINTON: Yes, but when you get to be our age, you get -- it is different. Good different, not bad different. Hillary has got to make decisions about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. And right now I think more than anything else she's bone tired. I mean she's done 20 hard years, eight years in the White House, eight years in the Senate, four years as secretary of state, most traveled secretary of state we ever had, and I want her to be happy. I want her to get some rest and do whatever she wants to do and whatever she wants to do I'll support her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN brings you politics each Sunday during this hour. And we're bringing you the 2012 presidential contenders in their words. Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul is taking aim at his political rivals today on NBC's "Meet the Press." He told David Gregory that Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, quote, lack consistency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think they're -- they come from the same mold. They're about the same. They're both on the defensive. They're both explaining themselves and I even said that last night, that why should we have a nominee that has gone -- that is going to spend most of the time explaining themselves and deciding what position they were on and when. I think that's too much on the defensive.

And I think if you're consistent, it speaks for itself. You know, nobody ever challenges me to that, but I don't have to brag about it either because everybody knows exactly what I'm going to do and exactly what I've done for 30 years, so it goes without speaking about it.

DAVID GREGORY, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS:" But I want to be clear on this point, you consider both Gingrich and Romney unacceptable as consistent conservatives?

PAUL: Well, I would say they're not consistent. I think they more or less admitted that they changed their positions on it. It is not that they're in denial. It is just that they admit that they were on one side of the position here and on the other side of a position on another topic.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Meantime, Newt Gingrich has been pretty steady this week about his position on Palestinians, calling them invented. Will that cost him? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to delve into the issues on the presidential campaign. Every Sunday we're spending this hour of the CNN NEWSROOM to allow you to hear from the contenders as they spell out their future, what they see as the future of the United States.

Palestinian leaders meantime are lashing out at Republican front- runner Newt Gingrich in an interview that aired Friday on the Jewish channel. A U.S. cable channel. Gingrich said historically the Palestinian people were, quote, invented.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state. And I believe that the commitments that were made at the time, remember, there were -- there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we have had an invented Palestinian people, who are, in fact, Arabs and who are historically part of the Arab community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This is a response from a top Palestinian peace negotiator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF SAEB ERAKAT, PALESTIAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: I believe this is a very, very wrong statement, this is a racist statement. And we condemn it with the strongest possible term. And such statements are really inciting for bloodshed of Muslims, Christians and Jews in the region and we don't need such low level statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The issue was brought up at last night's Republican debate in Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a propaganda war in which our side refuses to engage and we refuse to tell the truth while the other side lies and you're not going to win in the long run if you're afraid to stand firm and stand for the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course you stand firm and stand for the truth. But you don't speak for Israel.

GINGRICH: I didn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Netanyahu wants to say what you said, let him say it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein back with us now from Washington. So Ron, can Newt Gingrich overcome these comments? Because he's not backing down, he's not apologizing.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, as history, it is certainly to say the least debatable. All of the nations of the modern Middle East in that sense are invented because they were all carved up by France and England out of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. In the Balfour declaration, which was the 1917 document in which the British government first talked about establishing a Jewish homeland, even in that document they talk about protecting the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. So certainly there is a history of a people there.

That isn't likely to be the real issue though here. As I said before, I think this dispute gets to the heart of the question I think Republicans will grapple with about the Newt Gingrich candidacy, which is does he have the temperament, the stability, the instincts that they want to see in a nominee and a president? He is someone who has a history of expressing himself in flamboyant language. He came to Congress as a back bencher determined to be heard.

He created something called the Conservative Opportunity Society in the '80s. In many ways he still carries that instinct of someone who really has to turn up the rhetoric, throw the rock through the window, to get noticed. He is trying to be a new Newt. He had some successful with that at the debate. This kind of comment I think goes to the heart of what will give some Republicans pause about anointing him as the nominee or seeing him as president.

WHITFIELD: So the Republican base has been very reluctant to embrace him all the way. This might potentially in your view kind of further alienate him or make some of those members of the Republican base take pause and step back and say, we are still not sure about him.

BROWNSTEIN: Well you know, I think Gingrich's rise is as much a demand side as a supply side phenomenon. One thing we have seen consistently in this race is there is a big chunk of voters, conservative voters, Evangelical voters as John King noted before, who are very leery about nominating Mitt Romney and they cycled through various alternatives to try to stop him.

Mike Huckabee, Newt, it is closing time now, Fredricka. We're a few weeks away from the caucus. Newt Gingrich is there and I think they're finding ways to look past some of the previous ideological problems. This question will be elect ability that goes into this issue of temperament and kind of style.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you very much. Ron Brownstein good to see you from Washington.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you. WHITFIELD: Which Republican presidential candidate's new strategy includes a plan to, quote, restore trust in Washington? The answer in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back to this special hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. We're taking this time out every Sunday to let you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders in their own words out on the campaign trail.

Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman skipped last night's debate in Iowa and he continues to lag behind in national polls, but he is staking his hopes on a new seven-point plan for restoring trust in Washington. Here are points.

Reform the tax code, trim the mounting debt by cutting spending, break up big banks on Wall Street so that no financial entity is too big to fail, adopt an energy strategy, streamline regulations to create more competition in the marketplace, and bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan and create what he calls the Citizen Legislature Act. Huntsman explains what that means.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And finally, in order to ensure that government responds to all its citizens with the same level of urgency and fairness, and to lessen the influence of special interests, I will send Congress a Citizens Legislature Act. I will propose a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress, six two-year terms in the House, two six-year terms in the Senate. I will ban members of Congress and cabinet officers from lobbying for four years following their departure.

I will seek a lifetime ban on members of Congress and cabinet officers lobbying on any issue where they had significant responsibility. And I will also require them to publicly release all income, for four years, following their service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So it has been a pile it on Newt Gingrich kind of week. Our chief political correspondent Candy Crowley brings us more in her "Trail Mix" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Newt Gingrich is the man of the hour, getting plenty of attention and attacks. Here is CNN's Candy Crowley with this week's "Trail Mix."

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. You know, pile on Newt week concluded with a pile on Newt debate. Not that any of his rivals needed an opening, but Gingrich gave them one earlier this week when he talked to the Jewish channel about Middle East peace. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that we have had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: That remark flies in the face of current U.S. policy, set Palestinian representatives in orbit, and got translated in the political universe as an example of Newt's propensity for the incendiary. Cue Mr. Steady.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm president of the United States, I will exercise sobriety, care, stability and make sure that in a setting like this, anything I say that can affect a place with rockets going in, with people dying, I don't do anything that would harm that process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Not that Mitt had an altogether banner evening, confident that Rick Perry had his facts wrong, Romney, a multimillionaire businessman, offered a friendly and oh, so tone deaf wager.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I'll tell you what, $10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet?

RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not in the betting business, but I'll --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: FYI, the median household income for residents of Des Moines is $44,000. Oops.

In other debate news, now there are two. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are the only ones to say yes to the Donald's invitation to a December 27th debate. It was just the teensiest feeling that a debate with the Trumpster in charge, might have been, a circus. Santorum thinks it may be something else.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump, I think, would be fairer than a lot of the folks that have been moderating debates over the past few months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: We're trying not to take that personally. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Candy.

All right, here is a look at where the 2012 contenders will be this week. On Monday, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman will participate in a Lincoln, Douglas, style debate in New Hampshire. Also traveling to New Hampshire this week are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. And by midweek, the focus returns to Iowa, with Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. And then on Thursday, all contenders will participate in another debate. This one sponsored by the Sioux City Journal and Fox News. That is scheduled for Thursday.