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Michele Bachmann Pulls Out of Race; Rick Perry Remaining in Race; Evangelicals Flock to Rick Santorum; Young Mom Kills Intruder; GOP Race On To New Hampshire; Murder Mystery On Queen's Estate; Iowa Caucuses' Top Tier; GOP Officials Clear Election Night Confusion
Aired January 04, 2012 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon. Let's get you caught up on everything making news this hour, "Rapid Fire." So let's go.
Already, the ground is shifting after a squeaker in the Iowa caucuses. Michele Bachmann is pulling out of the race after finishing next to last in her native Iowa, with just five percent of the vote. The focus now shifts to New Hampshire after Mitt Romney just barely beat Rick Santorum by eight votes in Iowa.
Well, Romney may not have won Iowa by much, but today his campaign is getting another boost from the man Republicans wanted to be president back in 2008.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I am really here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make sure that we make Mitt Romney the next president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: My how things can change in just a couple of years. Senator John McCain is returning the favor after Romney endorsed him in 2008.
President Barack Obama angering Republicans by appointing a new consumer watchdog while Congress is in recess. Obama is installing Richard Cordray as the first director of the new Consumer Protection Bureau. Senate Republicans have blocked Cordray's confirmation at every turn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only reason Republicans in the Senate have blocked Richard is because they don't agree with the law that set up a consumer watchdog in the first place. They want to weaken the law. They want to water it down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So this move by the president would let Cordray serve through at least December, when the new congressional session ends.
We're also watching the markets for you. Right now you can see the Dow is down, down some double digits at this point. It's about 16 points down (sic).
It's all because investors have refocused on Europe's debt crisis. Again, I'm being told it's up, rather, by 16. Up by 16. Oil prices are leveling off today after a big jump yesterday.
We'll keep an eye on all of that for you. We'll watch the markets.
The man arrested this week in the L.A. arson spree is also under investigation in Germany. Officials there say it looks like someone burned down the family home of Harry Burkhart. A German citizen, Burkhart is expected to be in a California courtroom today. Investigators believe he is behind many of the 52 suspicious fires that struck the Hollywood area over the past week.
A possible motive for the fires? Anger over the arrest of his mother on an international warrant on fraud and embezzlement charges.
A change of direction for a struggling Internet giant to tell you about. Yahoo! named former PayPal president Scott Thompson as its own new CEO. Still a force online, Yahoo! has lost a lot of ground in recent years to companies like Google and Facebook. Several shareholder groups were pushing to sell the company, but bringing in Thompson makes that less like likely now.
"America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon is starting the new year in the hospital. He's in a Colorado hospital, as a matter of fact. His wife, singer Mariah Carey, posted this photo to her Web site, tweeting that Cannon is recovering from -- get this -- mild kidney failure. He's awfully young for that.
Carey asked the fans to keep Cannon in their prayers because he's in a lot of pain. People.com reports the couple celebrated the new year in Aspen, Colorado.
We've got a lot more to cover for the next two hours. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina. If Mitt Romney sweeps those states, his campaign is probably hoping three strikes and they are all out. But the big prize now could be South Carolina.
I'm Don Lemon. The news starts right now.
(voice-over): The political race that's never been boring gets even more interesting.
One --
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's very, very close.
LEMON: -- two --
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's going to be a rematch.
LEMON: -- three --
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This message is growing.
LEMON: No time for victory laps as candidates hit the trail in New Hampshire.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- whether this party wants a Reagan conservative or we want a Massachusetts moderate.
LEMON: In the meantime, Newt Gingrich out for blood.
Plus, as the nation waited for Iowa's mysterious final votes, CNN goes directly to the source.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now on the phone, Edith (ph) and Carolyn (ph).
LEMON: I'll show you how it unfolded live on the air.
Also, a murder mystery on the queen's private estate. We're now hearing the body found is that of a young woman, possibly as young as 15.
And a little girl dies at school from a peanut allergy. Now her mother wants answers. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Mitt Romney may be the official winner, but Iowa emphasized how close the GOP presidential race is.
Hear now from the candidates who grabbed the top three spots, starting with the come from way behind candidate Rick Santorum. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is the first step in the process, and we're going to be on to New Hampshire, we're going to work hard and compete there. I'm a little bit behind the curve in the sense that Governor Romney has been spending a lot of money and a lot of time up there, and has been running for six years. But we feel like we can go up there and compete, and we've got a great team on the ground.
We have -- my campaign manager is from New Hampshire. He started out as my New Hampshire guy. And so he knows how to win races. He managed Frank Guinta's campaign up there. And we've got a lot of Frank's organization that was able to win a tough congressional seat up there.
And we have about 25 state reps already. This is before tonight who have signed up. And they haven't just signed up. We have got some hardworking state reps up there. And you know that New Hampshire is all about grassroots politics, and we feel very good that we're going to climb that ladder just like we did here.
Well, there's going to be a rematch. And we're going to go to New Hampshire and take him on. And we're going to run a campaign talking about my vision for this country.
You didn't hear me going after people tonight. I just laid out what -- where America needs to go and how the Republicans needs to address those issues and talk about, you know, strong economy, and to make sure that the economy is going to be vibrant for everybody in this economy, and that we have an economy that's built on strong families, too. And that message will resonate not just here, but it will resonate in New Hampshire also.
And John McCain is a great man and is someone who was an honor to serve with. He's served this country and sacrificed more than, frankly, anybody that I've had the privilege to know in any way. And so I commend Governor Romney for getting his endorsement, but I'm not surprised by it. I mean, John is a more moderate member of the Republican team, and I think he fits in with Newt's -- excuse me -- with Mitt's view of the world.
And I -- you know, I wish him the very best. And again, I have nothing but respect for John McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: From someone who did well, we're going to talk about someone who didn't do so well. And you're going to hear from the rest of the candidates as we go through the next two hours.
Someone who didn't do well, Michele Bachmann, pulling out of the race after finishing next to last in Iowa. In August, remember she won the Ames straw poll, but that was pretty much her peak at that point. She is "suspending" her campaign, which allows her to keep raising money to pay off debt.
Here's what she told reporters this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And so last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside. And I believe that if we are going to repeal Obamacare, turn our country around and take back our country, we must do so united.
And I believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer. But make no mistake, I'll continue to be a strong voice. I'll continue to stand and fight for the country and for the American people and for our freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Dana Bash in Des Moines, Iowa, right now. It looks like a very chilly Des Moines, as she's there for the Bachmann announcement. Dana, back in August she won the Ames poll. I remember. I was there. Lots of surprise. The campaign was ecstatic about it.
What turned Iowa voters off since then? It wasn't that long ago?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is really stunning, isn't it, the fact that four-and-a-half months ago, and her campaign -- that was by far her high watermark, Don. And it really crumbled from there, and this is her home state. This is the state where she was born, and she certainly touted that across the state as she visited all 99 counties, just much like Rick Santorum did. But as Rick Santorum, of course, skyrocketed, she flat-lined and even went down.
Why did she fail to catch fire? It is a question mark, and even her campaign says they are trying to figure out why exactly that happened.
Look, the bottom line is that the conservative vote that she was vying for was definitely split among herself and obviously Rick Santorum, who gobbled up most of it. And the question is whether or not the whole idea of her Tea party appeal, which was very real -- she was an early supporter of the Tea Party. She was a founder of the Tea Party caucus. That's another question.
She got, like, nine percent, according to the entrance polls, of people who agree with the Tea Party. It's just completely perplexing.
LEMON: Listen, and no one is perfect on the campaign trail. Everyone has a gaffe now and then on the trail. No one is perfect.
So how badly though -- she had a few -- the HPV thing, the John Wayne Gacy thing, et cetera. Did that factor into her drop?
BASH: You know what? Privately, some of her aides say that they do think that -- they are not sure why, and they are certainly not overly or even quietly playing the gender card, but they are saying that some of those things that she said got maybe more attention than some of the gaffes that other candidates make. Because as you said, Don, everybody makes gaffes.
I mean, another example is -- remember when it was the day that Elvis died and she said it was Elvis' birthday? And that was after -- and I think it was in CNN's debate that she said Elvis was her favorite singer. So little things like that, which, you know, people are tired. We make mistakes sometimes when we're out and speaking off the cuff. But her campaign does think that maybe she didn't get as much slack cut to her as perhaps others did.
LEMON: There's so much to talk to you about. But the only woman in the race. How much did that factor into it?
BASH: You know, I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that. I do think -- because I've been thinking about this today -- that she definitely stood up there with the boys at all of those debates, 13 debates, and she held her own. Look, she definitely had and has views that for some Republicans just didn't jive. And whether it was that or whether it was the fact that, woman or man, she's been in Congress for just a few years. She didn't have that much experience, and perhaps that was it. You never know.
But one interesting thing, if you do look at the entrance polls -- and as a woman, this is a little bit discouraging -- women didn't tend to vote for her. And it's unclear why, if that is some gender thing or not.
LEMON: Yes. That's interesting. And that deserves some analysis in and of itself, longer than you and I have right now to talk about it.
And she did -- in the debate she did fire back when people tried to condescend to her. She said, hey, listen, I am a strong candidate. I am in this race.
I want to move on now and I want to talk about John McCain and Rick Santorum, because it just happened, Dana. And four years ago they were at odds with each other. One did end up endorsing the other one then. But I think John McCain said, you know, I wanted to hug him the last time just long enough to stop him from breathing. Now he's endorsing him.
BASH: Isn't it amazing? I mean, I was standing right in this state four years ago watching the two of them go at it and continue to go at it in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and really intensely in Florida. But you know what happened after that, when Mitt Romney dropped out? He endorsed John McCain.
He didn't just endorse John McCain, he actually went out and he supported John McCain wholeheartedly. And that is something that John McCain has told me and others that he really very much appreciated.
One interesting subplot of this that has to be underscored is the fact that, who is the chief opponent right now to Mitt Romney? It is Rick Santorum.
I covered Rick Santorum in the Senate, I covered John McCain in the Senate. The two of them do not get along. There is no love lost there for various reasons, but they do not get along.
And I just actually pulled up a clip from me asking John McCain in 2008 about a robo call that Rick Santorum did questioning John McCain's temperament, saying he shouldn't be president. And you should have seen John McCain's face when I asked about that. There is definitely an underlying issue there, and I'm told that was definitely one of the things that greased the skids for John McCain to endorse Mitt Romney today.
LEMON: And I misspoke. I said Rick Santorum. I met Mitt Romney, because obviously Rick Santorum came in second, which was a win for him, by the way.
Dana Bash, thank you very much. Stay warm. Go back inside and get warm for us and we'll see you here in a bit on CNN. BASH: Thanks, Don. I've got my hat.
LEMON: Good for you.
Listen, if you thought Rick Perry was out of the race, I want you to think again. After finishing fifth in Iowa and returning home to Texas, after telling his staff in South Carolina to stand down and wait new orders, Perry put out this tweet today. Look at this.
He said, "Here we come South Carolina. OK!"
And I want you to take a look at that photo. Rick Perry looking fit, energetic, a different Rick Perry than the one we saw last night after his disappointing showing in Iowa.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Joining us now from Manchester, New Hampshire, our guy for all things Rick Perry. Of course it's Wayne Slater of "The Dallas Morning News."
I've got to ask you -- thank you for joining us. I've got to ask you, does Perry still think is he viable, or is he soldiering on to South Carolina for a more graceful option than bowing out now? Is he trying to save face, in a way?
WAYNE SLATER, "DALLAS MORNING NEWS": Well, look, they always think they are still viable until they are not. I think there's a part that he does think he's still viable, that things could happen. You just never know in politics.
On the other hand, I think he does want to save face. South Carolina is a southern state. He's a southern governor. He thinks he can do fairly well there. We'll see.
He has a message that he will do pretty well. His people on the inside believe that Rick Santorum will fade and that Perry will ultimately -- or could be in a position to accumulate those voters who will not be for Mitt Romney. But fundamentally, what happened last night was -- and you had it exactly right, Don -- if you saw him last night, he was beat.
LEMON: Yes.
SLATER: He said he felt like it was over. He went in, and our Christy Hoppe talked to Griffin Perry, the son of Rick Perry, and Griffin this morning said, you know what? He went in, he talked to mom and talked to his kids, Griffin and Sydney. He went out for a run, cleared his head, and said, you know what? I'm going to do this.
And there were some members of the staff in Austin that were surprised by that. They thought it was over. Well, it ain't quite over yet.
LEMON: But he says he's going to reassess his campaign and then he does this. You know, when Herman Cain says I'm suspending my campaign, when Michele campaign says I'm suspending my campaign, when he says I'm reassessing, for him, for Rick Perry, I guess it means a different thing.
You mentioned this -- you talked about this in your column today. The impression that he's left on voters so far, as they say in Texas, he's all hat and no cattle. How can he change that now this late in the game? What's the plan, if any?
SLATER: Very, very hard. I mean, the column I wrote today was basically that Rick Perry failed to learn the lesson of 20 years ago, when a Republican was at the top of the ticket on Rick Perry's first race when Perry was running for agricultural commissioner. He was a cowboy, outspoken, and all the things that accrue to being a cowboy -- independent, self-reliant, full of common sense -- once you begin to stumble and the voters get to see you, all they see are the bad aspects associated with that cowboy -- swaggering, boot and mouth disease.
It is going to be very, very difficult. And I think there are some analysts who say it's going to be virtually impossible.
LEMON: It is.
SLATER: When I would travel and talk to voters in New Hampshire -- I mean in Iowa -- I would basically get to Rick Perry and it was as if they dismissed him as a great guy, good resume, but he simply isn't up to the job.
LEMON: Well, Wayne, it's a larger-than-life image to sort of have this John Wayne kind of image. And if it doesn't work for you, as you say in your column, it's tough to lose that image or to turn the ship around, so to speak.
He's definitely leading the field in YouTube moments. This one is from November 9th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education, and the -- what's the third one there? Let's see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't name the third one?
PERRY: The third agency of government I would do away with, Education, Commerce, and, let's see -- I can't. The third one I can't. I'm sorry. Oops.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Oh, it's hard to watch.
SLATER: Painful. Painful.
LEMON: Painful. And the people in Texas, what's their assessment of this performance on a national stage?
SLATER: Well, you know, there are Rick Perry supporters in Austin and in Texas, and they certainly feel very badly about how things are going. They support him.
I sense when I talk to a number of Texans that they don't typically want to talk about publicly, especially if they are Republican or conservative, moderate Independents. They are not happy with Rick Perry's performance because it seems to have told the rest of the country, offered this stereotype of, again, the boot and the mouth disease, these Texans aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer. It's not been the best image that we want for our state.
That may be Perry's contribution if he ultimately doesn't get the nomination, that he will go down with that clip you just saw, with the historic clips of American 20th century and 21st century politics, you know, "I was brainwashed," or "I didn't have sex with that woman," and, "Oops."
LEMON: Well, and I have to say, oops for you, because that was your guy.
SLATER: I know. You know, stay in there, Rick. We'll go. But you know what? The democracy marches on.
LEMON: All right. Wayne Slater, thank you very much. You're a good sport. We appreciate it.
Next Tuesday night, all eyes are on New Hampshire as a new political year heats up. Make sure you keep it right here. Our Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King all will have live coverage of the New Hampshire primary right here on CNN, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
One of the clear winners in last night's Iowa caucuses was former senator Rick Santorum. In the laundry list of people he thanked for their support, at the top was God.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: For giving me his grace every day, for loving me, warts and all, I offer a public thanks to God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: There is a lot more to this story. Up next, how the Evangelical vote helped in Rick Santorum's last-minute surge.
Make sure you stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You never know in life, and especially in politics. Many people said he didn't have a prayer in the race for president, but Rick Santorum proved them wrong, at least in Iowa he did, losing by only eight votes. That's a win for him.
And he made sure to give thanks to above.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: I've survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from God.
(APPLAUSE)
SANTORUM: For giving me his grace every day, for loving me, warts and all, I offer a public thanks to God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That could be seen as two thank-yous, one to God and another to the Evangelical voters who flocked to Santorum in Iowa.
I want to bring in now Dan Gilgoff. He's a religion editor for CNN.com.
Dan, thank you for joining us.
How much Evangelical support did Santorum actually get?
DAN GILGOFF, CNN.COM RELIGION EDITOR: Well, he got about a third of the Evangelical vote last night. and there were a lot of surprises last night.
One of them was how big the Evangelical share of the Iowa caucus-goers actually turned out. In 2008, Evangelicals were about 60 percent of the caucus vote. But that was seen as a kind of Mike Huckabee effect. Remember, Huckabee was a former Baptist preacher.
This time around, it was expected to be a little bit lower, and one of the surprises was it was about 60 percent again. So Evangelicals played a bigger role than even anticipated in the caucuses last night.
LEMON: So then why Rick Santorum? What's his attraction?
GILGOFF: Well, you know, of course Santorum has been really outspoken throughout his career as a senator, and a congressman before that, on the hot-button issues -- abortion, gay marriage, and his opposition to them. But I think the secret to his success was more than that, because, after all, last night you had candidates like Bachmann and Rick Perry, who had really tried hard to get Evangelical votes and who also talked a lot about abortion and gay marriage. I think those candidates though, those other Evangelical candidates, might have been trying too hard --
LEMON: Oh, really? GILGOFF: -- so that Rick -- yes. I think Rick Perry, his early ad that was coming out promising to get prayer back in public schools, and criticizing gays in the military, I think was seen by a lot of Evangelicals who I talk to as almost kind of pandering, whereas for Santorum, who is a Catholic, not an Evangelical, his faith and the way that it harmonizes with his politics is seen to be very authentic. And I think that carried the day yesterday.
LEMON: He was on message. He stuck to his principles when it came to what he believes about religion, about gay marriage, gay rights, all of that. And he just continues to do that. He didn't change. He wasn't a flip-flopper, as they say.
You mentioned him being a Catholic. He is a Catholic, and Protestant Evangelicals don't always see eye to eye with Catholics, do they?
GILGOFF: Well, no, not on theological issues. So Catholics, of course, acknowledge the authority of the pope. Evangelicals see the primary authority as residing in the bible itself.
But when it comes to politics, this has been one of the big changes in American politics over the last half century. A half century ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a Catholic like Santorum winning on the backs -- or coming in second on the backs of Evangelical support in Iowa. But what's happened is, in American politics and religion, think about John F. Kennedy, of course.
But what's become the major dividing line isn't these kind of traditional denominational differences -- are you a Catholic, are you an Evangelical. Rather, in politics, it matters, how often do you go to church, how much does your faith influence your politics? That's become the bar. And so Santorum very clearly cleared that bar last night.
LEMON: Real quickly though -- and we just have a short time here left -- I think this is the crux of everything. Was this really support for Santorum or was it a rebuke of Mitt Romney among Evangelicals?
GILGOFF: It was a little bit of both. And, you know, it was interesting in that Evangelicals galvanized around Santorum, but he only took about a third of the Evangelical vote. It's not like he actually won it.
There were a lot of candidates like Perry, even Romney, Ron Paul, who did decently. Ron Paul got 18 percent of Evangelical support.
And so what it was -- it was a show that Evangelicals really don't care for Romney. There's consensus around that. Romney did even worse among Iowa Evangelicals than he had four years ago. But there's not a consensus on who the alternative to Romney should be among Evangelicals. That's going to play out over the course of the next couple of weeks and months.
LEMON: Dan Gilgoff, always a great conversation. CNN.com/belief, right? You can see it all there. All your hard work right there on CNN.com. GILGOFF: That's right. Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Thank you, Dan. Good to see you. Happy New Year.
Up next, a young mother shoots and kills a man who she says was trying to break into her house, and the whole thing is caught on a 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door?
911 OPERATOR: Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. I can't tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This next story certainly captured our attention. I'm sure it will capture yours as well. A terrifying call in Oklahoma as a young mother takes matters into her own hands as a man tries to break into her house. Eighteen-year-old Sarah McKinley was home on with her 3- month-old son on New Year's Eve one week after her husband died of cancer. She heard a man trying to break in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH MCKINLEY, MOTHER WHO SHOT INTRUDER: He was from door to door trying to bust in, just going from door to door. And I don't know what he had in his hands besides the knife. I believe he actually had a hammer in his hand at one point because he was hitting that back door with it. You have to make a choice, you or him. And I chose my son over him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Absolutely. McKinley made that choice during a terrifying call to 911.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCKINLEY: I've got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. I can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Here's how it all ended up. McKinley shot and killed 24-year- old Justin Shane Martin. His body was found on the couch. McKinley had pushed against the door to barricade it. It is legal to kill someone who breaks into a house in Oklahoma if there is a reasonable belief that the intruder intends to injure or kill you.
Now you know.
Want to get back to politics now. It was a war on words in the race for the White House. Newt Gingrich called Mitt Romney a liar. Ron Paul called Gingrich a chicken hawk. Rick Santorum has called Ron Paul disgusting. It's like who shot John, right?
Up next, we're going to talk live with the head of the Republican National Committee about the lasting impact when the candidates attacking their fellow candidates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. You need a scoreboard to keep up here. We're going to get back now to presidential politics, presidential race. And joining us now from Washington, the head of the RNC, Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus joins us.
Hey, Reince, listen, Mitt Romney just eked out a win in Iowa. He's got a sizeable lead in New Hampshire. If he wins there and then pulls out a win in South Carolina, is this race essentially over, Romney wins?
REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CHAIRMAN: I don't know about that, Don. And as you've talked about before and analyzed this, we have a race to about 1200 delegates and, you're right, momentum plays a big part of it. But I think we can all agree that, you know, predicting how this is going to turn out and how one day it's very different than the next day, that's been the case with the primary, and I'm not in a position to make that prediction and I think that's what makes this primary unique.
And, quite frankly, I think it's a good thing for our party, a tough primary, a little bit of a drama in a horse race. I think this is what makes it all exciting and it's good for our side of the aisle.
LEMON: Yes. Any time I hear someone predicts something, I say, oh my gosh, you may --
PRIEBUS: Yes, especially --
(CROSSTALK)
PRIEBUS: Well, you're right, especially in this primary. I mean I -- 72 hours ago, you know, things were different and at least if you look at polling. And that's why a lot of these things in primaries are hard to predict. Primaries are very hard to poll, they are hard to predict.
LEMON: Yes.
PRIEBUS: But you know, for the most part I think what's good for us is that 70 percent of the American people in poll after poll believe that our country is on the wrong track. Now that's not good --
LEMON: OK.
PRIEBUS: -- for our country but it's certainly good in our chances of defeating Barack Obama.
LEMON: All right. You got that one in. But let's stick to what we're talking about here. And I -- we all know the ultimate intention is to beat Barack Obama. Let's stick -- let's move through this, Mr. Priebus, because I have lot of sound bites I want to get through here.
One problem for Romney. He's really welled up Newt Gingrich. I want you to listen to Gingrich being attacked today and he clarified his remarks suggesting Mitt Romney is a liar. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you characterize Mitt Romney earlier as a liar?
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I was asked today, do I think he's a liar, I said, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So (INAUDIBLE) he's a liar?
GINGRICH: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And why did you say that?
GINGRICH: Because he doesn't tell the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Is he out of bounds with that?
PRIEBUS: Well, you know, listen, I think that for the most part we do our best to abide by Reagan's 11th commandment but as chairman of the party I really don't -- I'm not going to become the referee of the primary field.
And I'll just remind you, Don, and all of the other people viewing this, is that, you know, we got a president in the White House who went through -- I mean this was -- they went through a wild horserace with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That didn't affect him at all. You remember the 3:00 a.m. call? The commercial, who you do you want to answer the phone? And you know what? We tried to use that. It really didn't work.
LEMON: Are you saying Americans have short memories? Is that what you're saying?
PRIEBUS: Well, it sounds like -- no, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying, though, is that I think Americans expect primaries to be tough. And if you look at, you know, governors throughout the Midwest that have come through tough primaries in 2010 from Wisconsin to Ohio, to Chris Christie.
I mean every one of these Republicans came through a very difficult primary and they won in blue states, and the fact is that history shows us that primaries -- and including tough primaries, work for the opposition party.
LEMON: OK. OK.
PRIEBUS: And that's just the facts.
LEMON: OK. I want to talk about this. And if we have this video, after Rick Santorum made his speech, you saw Mitt Romney. There's a video of Mitt Romney's people pulling down the teleprompters because they said Santorum basically went out and hit a homerun and really related to the folks and didn't read from a teleprompter which Mitt Romney was going to do.
And it's believed that this decision was made to make Mitt Romney look more human. So I ask you that because of this. What can Romney do to win over the party's conservative base which really Santorum has? He's failed to do it up until now. Is there anything that he can do at this point?
PRIEBUS: Well, I mean I guess I sort of reject the basis of the question, Don. I don't think this is a matter of choosing one candidate over the next on the basis that a particular voter would never go to the next candidate. I think it's just akin to going to a restaurant and just because, Don, you don't order the hamburger, doesn't mean you don't like hamburgers. It just means that you happen to want a Caesar salad.
LEMON: But you disagree that --
PRIEBUS: Or a chicken sandwich. I mean --
LEMON: You disagree with me that Romney hasn't won over the conservative base of the Republican Party?
PRIEBUS: Well, I disagree with the -- I disagree with the premise. I mean -- and the second thing is, it's not for me to decide which candidates voters choose. I mean I think that's the problem. I think that the very premise of all of this is what our voters, and what I think the American people are sick and tired of, is that, number one, me as party chairman, I don't get to decide who the nominee is.
But secondly, I think voters across America are sick and tired of Washington insiders telling them who should be -- you know, who should be supported and for what reason.
LEMON: I understand that. I respect that.
PRIEBUS: These candidates are going to fight it out. And I'm going to support the nominee, Don.
LEMON: I understand that. And that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking you as the head of the Republican Party, someone who's been around politics, is there anything that you see Mitt Romney can do to improve his chances of winning? That's the basic premise of my question, by winning over -- PRIEBUS: I think Mitt Romney is doing well --
LEMON: -- the conservative part of the party?
PRIEBUS: I think Mitt Romney is doing -- Mitt Romney is doing well and I think all the candidates are doing well. So I'm not going to offer him advice as anyone else as far as what I think they should do, or accept the premise that other folks may extrapolate. I think that the candidates are doing well, and I think if you look at the polling they do well head to head against the president.
The president is bleeding in all these battle ground states and I think he's extremely vulnerable, and all for the better.
LEMON: Yes.
PRIEBUS: Because I think we need to save this country from a president that hasn't followed through on a single promise to the American people.
LEMON: That's the answer to my question. Thank you, Reince Priebus. We appreciate it. We know that you're very busy one day after this caucus.
PRIEBUS: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you for joining us.
PRIEBUS: I'm happy to do it, Don.
LEMON: All right.
PRIEBUS: Happy New Year.
LEMON: Happy New Year. See you next time.
Ahead, new details on the discovery of a young woman's body on Queen Elizabeth's estate. We're going to go live to London for some answers to this royal mystery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. We have some new information this afternoon in the murder mystery on the British royal estate. Police say it was a body of a young woman that was found by a dog walker on Queen Elizabeth's estate in Sandringham. Now that's where the royal family spent Christmas holidays -- the Christmas holiday.
Max Foster is our man in London.
And police have identified the victim or determined how she died, have they, Max?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: No. They've got some remains effectively and they've carried out some DNA testing on those remains. It hasn't been successful so they're trying again with that. They know that she didn't die from natural causes. So it is a murder investigation at this point.
What they do know -- what they told us today was the body is described as a young white adult female, age between 15 and 23 years old. And the body had been there for a period between a month and up to four months. So they're trying -- what they're trying to do, Don, is have a look at unresolved disappearances. Not just locally but across the UK and try to match up those disappearances with the body. But without the DNA, it's a real problem.
But there are three young women who match that description who have never been found so that's what they are looking at for the moment.
LEMON: OK. So it's three to four months, you say. Sandringham Estate is huge, Max. I want you to give us a layout of the land there for our viewers.
FOSTER: Well, it's one large house where the queen and the royal family spend Christmas and she's there with Prince Philip at the moment but it's a 20,000-acre estate. It's not like your backyard, I suspect, Don, certainly not like mine. But this is largely a public area with public roads going through it, and there are villages within the estate. So people can wander through it.
And that's what happened on Sunday, on New Year's Day, when a dog walker found these remains. So that's what we know about the estate. It's a vast area but no association being made currently certainly with the royal family at least.
LEMON: And the queen is not there, right, anymore?
FOSTER: She is still there. She's there until the end of the month with Prince Phillip.
LEMON: She's still there?
FOSTER: And we -- yes. And we assume that she's been informed but they are not making any public comment. As I say it's a police matter. They are staying clearly out of it.
LEMON: Max Foster, thanks as always. Appreciate it.
In one of the closest races in American history, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum practically tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses, separated by only eight votes. Ron Paul not far behind. Well, we heard from Santorum earlier this hour. Coming up we're going to hear from Romney and Representative Paul. So make sure you stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Mitt Romney may be the official winner but Iowa emphasized how close the GOP presidential race is. We heard from Rick Santorum earlier in the hour. Now I want to hear from Mitt Romney and Representative Ron Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm actually feeling terrific because, as you know, we were well behind several weeks ago. I don't think many people gave us a shot at beating Speaker Gingrich. We obviously won last night. Although it's very, very close, obviously Rick Santorum and Ron Paul also had big nights. We all come out of Iowa a lot stronger.
I continue to believe the right place to focus is on President Obama. Of course people are going to ask us about the difference on our -- positions on issues and background and so forth but really if we talk about what the American people want to hear is how we're going to be different than President Obama when it comes to getting the economy going, preserving America's security abroad, and making sure we rein in the scale of the federal government.
So those will be the issues I think that really are the focus of the campaign over the next several months. Actually you know I lead on polls from those who call themselves conservative. Look at a place like New Hampshire. Well, my record is understood pretty darn well because I of course came from the state next door. I've got great support from conservatives, from Tea Party members, from evangelicals in New Hampshire.
You know I start off -- you may recall also four years ago that Mike Huckabee and I were the two conservative alternatives in the race. So I've got conservative credentials but I'm going to do my very best to communicate my vision for the country going forward, and I think conservatives will rally around that effort.
As I look at a place like New Hampshire, I think I'm leading among evangelical voters there. Last time around I led with evangelical voters in Michigan. So you know I'm going to do just fine with the different groups in this country. As long as I continue to talk about my message of getting American stronger, getting our economy going, shrinking the size of the government and holding firm on the principles of freedom and opportunity that made the country the hope of the earth.
REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the young people. Obviously we did get, you know, the large majority of the young people voting last night. But the volunteers are very often the young people that college kids in common. They have such enthusiasm and they respond very well to this message of freedom and a changed foreign policy where we don't sacrifice ourselves overseas and waste our resources.
And we balance our budget and we emphasize personal liberty, and we emphasize economic liberty. And they're enthusiastic about it. So I would say that this message is growing by leaps and bounds, and it's going to continue to do it. If you say that I have, you know, an attraction to young people, that's what you need. That's what Obama had. If you look at independents, what kind of a Republican thinks that they can win without the independent vote? I mean you have to get the independent vote in New Hampshire. So the primary is wide open and more independents than anybody else. So I would say if you're looking to Obama, and I can show you some other polls where we do very, very well equal to how Romney does. You know -- you know what I laugh about is that nobody -- nobody disagrees with me that my reputation is I strictly adhere to the constitution, I strictly adhere to balanced budget, never vote for spending that we can't afford, always lower taxes.
I don't want to ever fight a war that's unconstitutional and I'm the dangerous person. You know when Newt Gingrich was called to service in the 1960s during the Vietnam era, guess what he thought about danger? He chickened out on that. He got deferments. Didn't even go. So right now he sends these young kids over there to endure the danger and the kids coming back and the young people coming back, and the ones in the military right now, they are overwhelmingly support my campaign.
We get twice as much support from the active military personnel than all the other candidates put together. So Newt Gingrich has no business talking about danger. Because he is -- he's putting other people in danger. Some people call that kind of a program a chicken hawk and I think he falls into that category.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Those are words from the candidates. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Edith and Carolyn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Guess what? Joining us now on the phone Edith and Carolyn. Let's give them a big round of applause.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: If you haven't heard about these Iowans yet, you simply have to. You've got to stick around. They helped fix a major problem in reporting last night's Republican caucus numbers and now they have gone viral online.
Up next, we'll hear from them and our very own Wolf Blitzer has a, shall we say, moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: I can only say three letters, OMG. Look at this. Look what's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: They really are the overnight sensations of CNN's election coverage. Two Iowans named Edith Pfieffer and Carolyn Tallett. Now they have their own Twitter hash tag. And it's Edith & Carolyn. Check them out. Edith & Carolyn.
They are the Iowa GOP officials who helped CNN clear the confusion when just one vote separated Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.
Wolf Blitzer is here to tell the story.
OK, Wolf, so it's about 2:00 in the morning. The nation doesn't know what was going on with the Iowa caucus. I think it was one vote separated. It was one missing county. And then all of a sudden that's when it all went nuts.
BLITZER: It was one precinct out of more than 1700 precincts --
LEMON: Gosh.
BLITZER: -- in Iowa. And they didn't have some numbers. And all of a sudden we learned Mark Preston, our political director, we were focusing on this one county in Iowa, in the eastern part of Iowa, Clinton County. By coincidence I happened to have been there with Mitt Romney last week. When I interviewed him we went from Davenport up to Clinton. I got off the bus in Clinton so I was a little familiar with Clinton.
And all of a sudden one precinct in this county, they didn't have the right numbers. And so we said, let's call up the GOP officials who were in charge.
LEMON: We have your conversation with John King and John King had with the two women. Let's listen to that then you and I will chat a little bit more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The numbers we're receiving from the state do not match the numbers we just received from the county chairwoman right here in Clinton County. If these are the final numbers --
EDITH PFEFFER, CLINTON CO. REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE: What do you mean the numbers don't match?
BLITZER: Well, I'll explain it -- I'll explain it to you. John, you go ahead and explain it.
And just to be precise, we didn't wake you up. The state chairs in Des Moines, they called you. They woke you up. Is that right?
CAROLYN TALLETT, PRES. CLINTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN: No. I woke her up. This is Carolyn.
KING: Carolyn woke her up to get the numbers because the state was --
TALLETT: I was sitting home watching CNN waiting for the results.
BLITZER: All right.
TALLETT: When I was told by the party. And so I came to wake up Edith who didn't answer her phone.
KING: You ladies don't have any fresh coffee brewed, do you?
(LAUGHTER)
TALLETT: No, but I think I'm ready for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I love them.
BLITZER: Yes, they were --
LEMON: And everybody loved them.
BLITZER: Wonderful women. They've been involved in the Republican Party activities. They're patriotic, hard-working, civic-minded, and they had a job, they did their job but for some reason officials in Des Moines, the state capital, didn't get the right numbers. That's why there was this one discrepancy. At that point Santorum was ahead by Romney by four points and then it changed obviously. In the end Romney wins by eight votes after they got the recount and all that.
LEMON: So, wait, TV news, especially, about personal stories and people, and that is proof right there.
BLITZER: Yes.
LEMON: Right?
BLITZER: Beautiful people. Yes. Wonderful ladies, and I was grateful to them, all of us. And it shows you, Don, how important each vote going forward. We got a lot more Republican contests and then there will be a general election in November. Every vote counts.
LEMON: Yes. And it's important for us and everybody to keep in mind we're talking to actual people when we're sitting in front of these cameras right here.
You gave them a grand send-off, didn't you?
BLITZER: We certainly did. We applauded them. You got the tape?
LEMON: Yes. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Guess what, joining us now on the phone, Edith and Carolyn.
Let's give them a big round of applause.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: They were really good sports. BLITZER: By then, it was almost 3:00 in the morning and so all of us were a little giddy to begin with. We were having a little fun covering this election.
LEMON: I hear, Wolf -- this is the backstory, everyone. Wolf never left the computer. He just stands there. He never goes to the restroom. Anderson was sitting on the floor. Erin took her shoes off. I don't know. What was John King doing?
BLITZER: He was playing with that magic wall of us. He was looking at the counties. He was looking to see how many percentage of this and that. Everybody was working, but we were having some fun, too. Erin Burnett, she had lovely shoes but she took them off. She was standing. Gloria Borger at least was sitting with David Gergen, but Erin was standing all that time. I felt really bad for her.
LEMON: Yes. Good stuff.
As you said, remember, we're talking to people and those ladies were great. Congratulations. And great job. Great job, as usual.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Wolf Blitzer, we will see him back here a little bit and of course "THE SITUATION ROOM" 4:00.
(END)
