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Romney Rivals Target Frontrunner; Romney Talks Jobs, Economy In South Carolina; Italian Judge: Captain Stays In Jail; Wisconsin Governor Recall Deadline Today; Family Pulled From Dangling Car; Young Voters Worried About Jobs, Economy

Aired January 17, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCOR: And it's the top of the hour. Thanks so much for joining us, everyone. Four days to go until South Carolina votes in the Republican presidential primary. Five GOP candidates still standing and the tone of the race, well, it's getting pretty intense.

Fresh off a fiery debate, Newt Gingrich holding a town hall meeting in Florence this hour while Rick Santorum is speaking in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. And then the third live event, Mitt Romney holding his in Florence, as well. While all the candidates are gunning for Mitt Romney, the clear target of last night's debate, he's taken a lot of flack on everything from the super PAC ads to how much he pays the tax man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So it would be nice if Governor Romney would exercise leadership on his former staff and his major donors to take falsehoods off the air.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Speaker Gingrich, I already said at our last debate, anything that's false in "PAC" ads, whether they're supportive of me or supportive of you should be taken off the air and fixed.

I've said that, but if we're talking about "Super PAC" ads that are inaccurate, Mr. Speaker, you have a "Super PAC" ad that attacks me. It's probably the biggest hoax since Big Foot.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Romney's "Super PAC" has put an ad out there suggesting that I voted to allow felons to be able to vote from prison because they said I'm allowing felons to vote and they put -- a person to prison jumpsuit.

I would ask Governor Romney, do you believe people who are felons who serve their time who have extended -- exhausted their parole and probation, should they be given the right to vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Romney?

ROMNEY: First of all, as you know, the "PACS" that run ads on various candidates as we unfortunately know --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer the question first.

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think people who committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again. My income tax has been out every year. Newt, I think you're going to let your income tax come out Thursday. And, Mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor, will you release your income tax records?

ROMNEY: I hadn't planned on releasing tax records because the law requires us to release all of our assets -- I'm not opposed to doing that. Time will tell. But I anticipate that most likely I'm going to get asked to do that around the April time period and I'll keep that open.

RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My point is, if another country does to us what we do to others, we're not going to like it very much. So I would say that maybe we ought to consider a golden rule in foreign policy.

Don't do to other nations what we don't want to have them do to us. So we endlessly bomb these countries and then we wonder why they get upset with us? And yet it continues on and on.

I mean, this idea that we can't debate foreign policy then all we have to do is start another war? I mean, it's war mongering. They're building up for another war against Iran and people can't wait to get another war. This country doesn't need another war. We need to save the money and bring our troops home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to Mark Preston, CNN political director. He is live in Charleston. So Mark, let's talk about the biggest winner and the biggest loser. Start with the winner.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, I think we saw Mitt Romney get rattled up there on stage in a certain number of occasions, Kyra, but the fact of the matter is, he really did come out unscathed.

There wasn't a game changing moment that knocked him off his lead right now. He's the frontrunner here in South Carolina. He's won Iowa. He's won New Hampshire. A lot of people think that if Mitt Romney is able to win the South Carolina primary, then the race for the Republican nomination is over.

But we shouldn't overlook Newt Gingrich who really was on his game last night, very forceful in his attacks on Mitt Romney as well. The question is, was it a little too late?

And quite frankly, are some of those attacks not going to be embraced by the Republican establishment? So Mitt Romney, by default, you have to say is the winner because he didn't come out battered and bruised, which is what Newt Gingrich and certainly Rick Santorum needed to do last night.

PHILLIPS: All right, biggest loser?

PRESTON: Well, Ron Paul, I mean, you could hear the boos in the crowd. You know, Ron Paul is a certainly a purist when it comes to libertarian ideology. It's certainly why he has such a strong fervent following.

However, that following is not within the Republican establishment and was not necessarily in that crowd last night. We did hear some cheers from Ron Paul supporters.

But it's his views certainly on foreign policy that are going to make sure that Ron Paul doesn't become the Republican presidential nominee. He'll have strong support.

He will always be a player in the Republican Party, but it's those foreign policy views that really discount him from winning the nomination -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mark Preston, thanks so much. Let's take you live now to Florence, South Carolina, Mitt Romney taking questions from the media.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

ROMNEY: Ran ads in New Hampshire, but Speaker Gingrich had been way ahead nationally and so forth, came down, not because of "Super PACs," but because of his own record.

So I know there's great interest to try and focus on ads, but this is a campaign about 25 million people out of work. This is a campaign about 9.9 percent unemployment in California and people running for office are desperate to try and talk about ads and "Super PAC" ads, my goodness, how long have we had ads in this country and people have been critical of ads of one another.

I will say, again, I hope that any "PAC" associated with me removes any material that's not accurate. But for instance, I hear that Rick Santorum is very animated that the "Super PAC" ad says that he's in favor of felons voting. Well, he is. That's his position.

He says, well, it makes it sound like they're people in prison. Well, actually, people who have been released from prison are still called felons if they've committed felonies. So you know, we can all talk about ads or we can talk about what it takes to get Americans working again.

And the reason that I believe finding some support in this state and others is because people believe that having spent a life in the private sector, that I have credibility talking about the economy, that I showed a capacity to lead in business, a capacity to lead at the Olympics and a capacity to lead in the state of Massachusetts.

PHILLIPS: Mitt Romney taking questions from reporters there in Florence, South Carolina. We'll continue to monitor all the live events as candidates hold them there in South Carolina. CNN's Jim Acosta is traveling with Mitt Romney. He's going to join us live in just a few minutes.

In the meantime, remember, Thursday, just days before the South Carolina primary, the GOP contenders debate the issues, the Southern Republican Presidential Debate right here on CNN, Thursday night, 8:00 Eastern.

We'll have the next political update in just about an hour. You can always go to our website though, cnnpolitics.com.

All right, let's head to the cruise shipwreck off the Italian coast. Rescue crews have found five more bodies, all of them we're told wearing life jackets. This brings the total number of dead to 11.

We're going to get a live report on the latest search and rescue efforts in just a moment. But first, take a look at this new infrared video that shows passengers lining up trying to get to safety.

As the camera pans down, you can actually see a gigantic rip in the ship's side. And here is the view from under water as crews are smashing windows and swimming through the hallways.

They've already recovered one black box and the coast guard now says it knows where a second data recorder is. Does this look like a technical failure to you?

That's how Captain Francesco Schettino described the disaster according to the Port Authority. Here is part of the conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANSESCO SCHETTINO, CAPTAIN OF COSTA CONCORDIA: This is Captain Schettino, Commandant.

PORT AUTHORITY: Listen Schettino, there are people trapped on board. Now, you have to go with your lifeboat and go under the boat stem on the straight side, there is a ladder there.

Get on board on the ship and tell me, you tell me how many people there are. Clear? I'm recording this conversation, Captain Schettino.

I understand. Listen. There are people who are coming down the stem ladder. You must take that ladder in the opposite direction. Get on board the ship and you me how many people are on board, and what do they have. Clear? You tell me if there are children, women, people with special needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, a judge actually questioned the captain at a closed hearing today and decided he'll stay in jail as the investigation unfolds. He could be charged with manslaughter. Dan Rivers live on the scene in Italy for us. Dan, we're talking about at least 11 people now dead, five more bodies found just today. What can you tell us about these victims?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK, Kyra, well, these were all sadly victims, slightly older victims between 50 and 70 years old, four men and one woman. I can show you where they were found on the ship behind me, towards the stern, towards the back.

You can see the yellow -- there, somewhere down in that section towards the back of the boat. That's where they were found and that's where divers and fire crews are continuing their efforts. You can probably just about make out tugs in the background just beyond the ship there.

There's a whole circle of different ships around the wreckage, the Costa Concordia. Still, they're maintaining a presence pretty much 24 hours a day and still by our calculations, some 23 people missing. There's quite a lot of confusion about the exact details of that.

Because we know, for example, there's a large party of Germans that are missing. Now, the German Foreign Ministry is saying they have 12 people unaccounted for. The Italian government thinks there are more like 14 Germans who are missing so a bit of confusion.

But still, it is not over yet. There is a lot of work to do on board this ship, which as you can see, it is vast and it's going to take them a long time to search all the way through it.

PHILLIPS: Dan Rivers, we'll continue to follow the investigation and the search with you. We're going to go back to politics and back to South Carolina right after the break.

I'm going to ask a college senior who is getting ready to face the job market which candidate she likes the most and what her biggest concerns are going into the election.

A mother and her two children just inches away from plunging to their death. Well, wait until you see the rescue effort that saved their lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country. It's deadline day for Wisconsin's Democratic Party, which is trying to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker. Governor Walker came under fire last year for stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

This is Valdez, Alaska, shoveling snow even for one of the snowiest places on earth they have about had enough. The city has seen a history-making accumulation of 322 inches of snow so far this winter.

And the heroic action of some California rescuers saved a mother and her two children from this horrific crash. Their car was actually dangling over a freeway bridge after a semi rear-ended it. The big rig driver didn't survive. His truck actually plunged into a ravine and burst into flames.

All right, back to politics now. What are young voters thinking about the GOP primary race in South Carolina and which candidates are connecting with them?

Sally Atwater is co-chair of the South Carolina College Republican Federation. She's a senior at Furman University and Republican politics are in her blood.

Her father is the late Lee Atwater. He was an influential campaign figure in the 1980s and '90s. So Sally, did you get into politics because of your dad?

SALLY ATWATER, SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE REPUBLICAN FEDERATION: You know, I wouldn't say I got into it because of him, but, you know, it was a big help to kind of get involved and whatnot. When I came to Furman, I knew about college Republicans because my dad was actually a college Republican in South Carolina when he was younger.

So I knew that it was a great organization and I've been with it since freshman year. And I was Furman University chairman last year and now I'm the state-wide co-chair. So it's been an interesting time and I've really enjoyed it.

PHILIPPS: Well, and you were at the debate last night. So who stood out to you?

ATWATER: Well, definitely Mitt -- you know, Gingrich is great. I think he did a really good job. Every debate he's been in I've actually been to.

It was my third South Carolina debate and I think he did fabulous. I also thought Perry did a great job. I was a little surprised with Romney. I didn't think that -- last night, but overall, it was a really interesting time.

PHILLIPS: Now, you say you're supporting Gingrich. Tell me why. I know that he was pretty close with your father. Did that make an impact on why you're supporting him and, you know, what exactly stands out to you?

ATWATER: No. Actually, it was interesting. He came to our campus, really, back in November. And a lot of people think that I had something to do with him coming here, but when he first came, he had no idea.

And so I was able to meet him. And I really like that he came here and got out and talked to all of the college students and I think that was a very amazing time. And then, you know, they kind of contacted me later on. And I had to think about it and, you know what? I really like his job creation plan and I think he's the best candidate.

PHILLIPS: So Obama got a lot of support in energy from young voters in 2008. Who do you think is generating that kind of buzz now among younger folks?

ATWATER: Well, I definitely would say Ron Paul has that kind of grassroots edge to him. You know, as I'm driving around, I can see potential voters holding up Ron Paul signs, which I think is very amazing and it's neat to see young people get interested.

In fact, I was 18 back in 2008 and a lot of my friends actually, you know, were working to elect Obama. And now a lot of them are switching over to the Republican side just because they've been really unhappy with him.

Punish, you know, Obama used a lot of youth tactics, creating music videos and whatnot and I really think Ron Paul has that edge to him.

PHILLIPS: Sally Atwater, thanks for joining us via Skype this morning with your input. Appreciate it.

No rest for Mitt Romney after the debate. He's back on the campaign trail in Florence, South Carolina this morning. Jim Acosta is there to listen, as well.

Jim, Romney's rivals were pretty brutal to him last night. How is he faring today?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was very interesting to watch, Kyra. We just got out of an event that Mitt Romney held here in Florence, South Carolina. And it was a very small crowd.

But perhaps a lot of Republicans in the state were up late watching the debate last night. So maybe it's possibly that's the reason why he had such a small turnout. But he came out after the event and gave a quick media avail, which is one of those unfortunate press jargon terms for a press conference.

And we pressed him. The reporters pressed him on the "Super PAC" ads. You recall last night during the debate that he said last night he would like to do away with these "Super PACs" and just allow campaigns to raise unlimited amounts of money.

And the "Super PAC" ads have come under a lot of scrutiny. This morning, Rick Santorum was at an event here in South Carolina and accused Mitt Romney of dirty politics.

So I asked the former Massachusetts governor, what about these "Super PAC" ads. I asked him isn't it convenient to be against these "Super PAC" ads after they've done so much damage to your rivals? And here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: This is a campaign about 25 million people out of work. This is a campaign about 9.9 percent unemployment in South Carolina and people running for office are desperate to try and talk about ads and "Super PAC" ads? My goodness, how long have we had ads in this company and people being critical of ads of one another? And I will say again, I hope that any "[PAC" associated with me removes any material that's not accurate?

ACOSTA: So there, you heard the governor there say that he would like these "Super PACs," if there's any ad material that he says is not accurate, that they should get rid of those discrepancies in those ads.

And just before he walked away, Kyra, got on this bus and drove off, he was pressed on a figure that he gave out last night. You'll recall during the debate he said that during his time at Bain Capital, and I supposed afterwards, 120,000 jobs were created in those companies that were launched by Bain Capital.

That is a new figure, Kyra. In the past, he has said 100,000 jobs in one of his ads. He talks about thousands of jobs and he was asked about. He actually got a little bit impatient with those questioning and said, guys, let's go the math, it adds up to 120,000 jobs.

So the former Massachusetts governor is getting some hard questions, I would say, now that we're heading into the final stretch -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jim Acosta following Romney today. Jim, thanks.

And CNN is the place to be for South Carolina's primary election. Our special coverage begins Saturday night at 7:00 Eastern. Watch as the contenders and you wait for the final results.

Part of Ohio could be America's next boom town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the manufacturing jobs that states are drooling over right now. I think the average compensation for the hourly focus is somewhere between $40 and $50 fully loaded.

PHILLIPS: That drilling project may bring jobs, but also environmental concerns. That story, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it sounds like a win-win situation. Natural gas drilling providing jobs for the unemployed and lucrative land deals for residents. But there are concerns about fracking that could harm the environment. Our Poppy Harlow reports from Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here at the Timken Company, the steel business is on fire. And the same thing that is energizing this factory could empower cities across America. Natural gas released by fracking. (on camera): To pump it out of the ground, you need steel piping. That's where you come in.

TIM TIMKEN COMPANY: You need a lot of steel piping and obviously, that has served us very well.

HARLOW: Underneath all of this rural farmland lies one of the hottest energy resources in the world right now. It's Utica shale. Here in Ohio, it is what everyone is talking about.

TIMKEN: The ripple effect of Utica development really is pretty incredible.

LORAINE GUTSCHER-MULINIX: December of 2008 going into 2009, I lost my job. So I was totally devastated.

TIMKEN: These are the kind of manufacturing jobs that states are drooling over right now. I think the average compensation for the hourly folks is somewhere between $40 and $50 fully loaded.

HARLOW: The question is, is this going to be America's next boom town?

(voice-over): It's a hot topic in Youngstown, Ohio, where a well for franking wastewater is believed by scientists to have triggered 11 earthquakes since mid-March.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never had an earthquake in my whole life, never even heard of one around here.

HARLOW: Many are worried about the possibility of pollution from chemically treated water used to break up rock and gas. The industry says it can be done safely. Youngstown's mayor has been hearing about it all around town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we need jobs. Yes, we need good paying jobs, but not at the expense of our environment, of our safety.

MAYOR CHARLES SAMMARONE, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO: A lot of people are not working. Again, we need the income tax.

HARLOW: The industry is bringing jobs. One study estimates 200,000 in Ohio by 2015. And others are profiting in different ways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Landowners are getting some very sweet deals, $5,000 an acre.

HARLOW: Are people becoming millionaires by leasing their land out or selling their mineral rights?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're getting really close.

HARLOW: All over this region, you have people who have sold the mineral rights to their land for fracking and they end up with wells like this one in their backyard pumping out natural gas 24/7.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone else around us, we night as well join the bandwagon.

HARLOW: Pat D. sold his mineral rights year ago. It's pitting neighbor against neighbor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I'm probably the environmental hold out around here.

HARLOW: But Pat's neighbor, Karen, is likely to see much more fracking here. Just this month, French and Chinese companies invested billions of dollars to tap these rich resources. From start to finish, fracking is an explosive topic in what just may be America's next boom town.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Poppy Harlow joining us now live from New York. So how much money is flowing into this region in terms of companies that want to tap the oil and natural gas?

HARLOW: We're talking billions and billions of dollars. And it's accelerating by the week, Kyra. You heard in the piece major Chinese oil and gas companies invested over $2 billion in the region just earlier this month.

Same story for Total, a French company. It's interesting, you know, France just banned hydraulic fracking, which is exactly what's happening in Ohio. So this French company came and invested billions in this region instead.

You have to look at all these peripheral industries, whether it's restaurants, hotels, trucking, auto dealers are having their best year ever with trucks flying out of the lot. So you've got billions in investment coming, jobs that haven't been there since the late 70s when the Steel Mills left. At the same time, you have the earthquakes and the environmental concerns, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Poppy Harlow, thanks.

Jon Huntsman might be out of the race, but he's earned a place on David Letterman's top ten. We're talking about it with our political buzz panel right after the break.

Michelle Obama already playing a lead supporting role to the president -- now she's making a cameo in a TV show.

GUY: All right, you guys are looking great out there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking at the top stories now, just a short time ago, we learned that rescuers have pulled five more bodies from that wrecked cruise ship off Italy.

They were all wearing life jackets. 11 people have now lost their lives. An Italian judge has ruled that the ship's captain must remain in jail while he's being investigated. And if you can't get on Wikipedia tomorrow, don't worry it's not computer. Wikipedia and several other large websites plan a blackout tomorrow to protest an anti-piracy bill. Time Warner is among the industry supporting the legislation.

Congress is returning to work today on Capitol Hill with an all-time low job approval rating. It's now at 11 percent according to a new CNN/ORC international poll.

"Political Buzz", your rapid fire look at the best political topic of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. And playing today Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman; founder and editor of Citizen Jane Politics, Patricia Murphy; and Republican strategist, Cheri Jacobus.

All first questions -- first question guys. Romney was the prime target at last night's debate. We've been talking a lot about this, this morning, taking a lot of flak for Super PAC ads. But he fired back at Newt Gingrich. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're talking about Super PAC ads that are inaccurate, Mr. Speaker, you have a Super PAC ad --

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I've said --

ROMNEY: That attacks -- that attacks me. Now, just hold on. That attacks me. It's -- it's -- it's probably the biggest hoax since Big Foot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gingrich is Romney's closest competitor in South Carolina right now. Is this kind of talk going to keep Gingrich as the runner up, you think? Sorry, Robert, go ahead.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Ok. Good morning.

Very frankly, that alone is not going to keep Gingrich in the mix. What's keeping Gingrich in the mix, however, is his tactics which we saw on display last night of engaging in class warfare, with his reference to elites against people who work, whatever that means, his attack on capitalism, and also exploiting and bigotry towards people of the Hispanic background, African-American background and going after the gay and lesbian community. Unfortunately that keeps him in the mix in today's Republican Party.

PHILLIPS: Cheri.

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Actually I say just the opposite is true. Newt does better when he's positive. That's why he rose to a position where people actually thought at one point he could be the nominee. When he goes negative like this it doesn't help him. The good news for Romney though is that he's showing that he's not the front-runner just because other people are imploding on their own. He's showing that he can fight back and hold his own.

So ultimately, it makes him a stronger candidate.

PHILLIPS: Patricia.

PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER, EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Yes, I think that Newt Gingrich, it almost doesn't matter what he does at this point. He is going to do extremely well in South Carolina.

South Carolina Republicans know him. He's from the state next door. They like him very much. They believe he is a fighter that he'll fight against President Obama; that he could take him down in some of these debates.

But these debates come at a very good time for him in South Carolina. South Carolinians like to see Newt, being Newt I think the positive and negative both sides of him. They love him. When he gets to Florida, I think he's going to have a much harder time. He's going to have to have a clear message, he's going to have appeal to more people and he's going to have to raise more money for more people. South Carolina he's doing well; Florida, I don't know about that.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's stay on Newt, shall we? He had a little bit of rumble with moderator, Juan Williams. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Speaker Gingrich, you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can't you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans but particularly to black Americans?

GINGRICH: No, I don't see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That was just plain insulting. Cheri?

JACOBUS: Well, you know my brother has a master's degree that he actually worked as a janitor at his school in the summer and I worked summers on an assembly line at Mack Truck. So in terms of what young people can and should do, when they're young to -- for work, I -- you know my threshold might be a little bit different than others.

I don't think there's anything wrong with kids working. I think it can actually help them. So the way it's being received, obviously, somebody thinks it's being communicated improperly, but the -- the notion behind it is not that bad at all.

PHILLIPS: Robert.

ZIMMERMAN: You know first of all, he doesn't have a plan. He's got a sound bite. And it's based upon exploiting the tensions that exist amongst the races. You saw how well it played in that audience. Let's remember Cheri, he wasn't talking about young people with a lack of a strong work ethic. He targeted poor people and accused them of having a lack of a work ethic.

I know a lot of very rich kids who need lessons from that, too. And his comments about food stamps on the African-American community is just wrong because the majority of people receiving food stamps are white Americans. Bottom line is he's not advocating a plan and he's not -- and he -- and he can't possibly work effectively to end poverty if he's going to divide America.

PHILLIPS: Patricia.

MURPHY: Yes I don't think that it's the plan so much that people have a problem with. I think it is what he's done and this is to Robert's point. That kids in poor neighborhoods don't have a work ethics; that this is a great way for them to learn how to work.

These kids are surrounded by parents who work two jobs, three jobs just to make ends meet. I think that's the part that was most defensive and it's -- it's part of what is so difficult about Newt Gingrich.

Some of his ideas are great, some of his ideas are bad. The way he delivers the good ideas can be bad and the way he delivers the bad ideas can be good. That's why he is not really taking off across the country with most of Republicans. He's just so many different people at the same time.

PHILLIPS: All right, "Buzzer Beater" 20 seconds each of this one. Letterman's top ten last night of course, on Huntsman dropping out. Take a listen to the top three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: And number three, "Hey, honey, some guy I've never heard of is dropping out of the race".

Number two, "You should have Tebowed more".

Number one, "Now who is going to lose to Obama in the general election?" There you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, guys, what would have been your number one on Huntsman dropping out? Robert.

ZIMMERMAN: Well, it clearly was inevitable when Gary Busey endorsed Newt Gingrich. Or let's face it, Jon Huntsman took a bold position when he said he wasn't going to kiss Donald Trump's ring or as he put it, any other part of Trump's anatomy. That's the price you pay for that position. That would have been funnier if I had a drum roll behind me.

(CROSSTALK) JACOBUS: He's a good candidate. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him. He's a good American. I'm glad he was in the mix. I think he conducted himself very well, it just wasn't his time and he simply didn't stand out. But I think he's terrific and I don't think there are any negatives on this guy.

PHILLIPS: Patricia.

MURPHY: I think the response to Jon Huntsman dropping out was just a collective yawn across the Republican Party. He's just so boring, he's so dull. He has -- he has positions, interestingly that Republicans like a lot. He has a family that people love. But he himself never took off. He's got to spend more time with regular people and just learn how to connect.

It was the lack of connection that kept him from going anywhere.

PHILLIPS: All right Cheri and Patricia, you guys -- you wimped out. You didn't give me a number one. Robert played the game.

MURPHY: My number one is yawn.

PHILLIPS: Yawn.

ZIMMERMAN: Yawn, neither -- neither one of you deserve a drum roll forget it.

PHILLIPS: That's right, they don't get it.

JACOBUS: I want to pat -- you know I want to pat the guy on the back. I'm sorry I think anybody that goes out there I think he did very -- he conducted himself very well, I want to give him a pat on the back. Thumbs up, you know, and I wouldn't want to be hard on anybody who's gone through -- who's been through the process.

MURPHY: I'm going to give him a yawn.

PHILLIPS: Robert. Ba-dam-dum.

ZIMMERMAN: Look, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for playing. All right, guys remember this Thursday. The GOP contenders debate the issues, the Southern Republican presidential debate on CNN Thursday night 8:00 Eastern. Tune in.

Well, she maybe turning 90 today, but nothing is slowing Betty White down, not even men, the younger ones. We've got her birthday bash details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Michelle Obama making her acting debut and several students got a pre-screening of the Nickelodeon Show featuring the First Lady. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" Nischelle Turner has all the scoop from L.A. So what do you know about the show?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, you know iCarly is one of Nickelodeon's biggest hits. And apparently it's one of Sasha and Malia's favorite shows. Plus, the show's main character's father is in the Air Force, which fits right in to the First Lady's efforts to support military families.

So she signed up to make a guest appearance. The show's stars says the First Lady was a great guest star and that she has actually got really good comic timing. Plus, you know, during the show, she had some pretty good dance moves, which is very important for iCarly guest stars since every single episode features this bit random dancing, where all of the stars get up and they started, just kind of going crazy for a little bit with their dance moods. And I've seen that and she actually was very, very cute.

PHILLIPS: All right. So stay tuned. We'll be following that. Meanwhile, happy birthday, Betty White. She turns 90. And actually, the President had a little skit that he did within that special hour. That was pretty funny. But NBC gave her a special tribute. It was amazing all the people that were a part of that tribute.

TURNER: Oh, it was simply a great turnout Kyra; really, really nice for Betty White. There were TV legends there, former co-stars like Mary Tyler more, Ed Asner, Carol Burnett. And not to mention they're a collection of current stars.

You mentioned the President like the biggest star probably. And Amy Poehler was there.

Kyra, you know, even at 90, though, I have to tell you, Miss Betty White is still apparently a sex symbol. The star of "Chuck", Zachary Levi. Well, apparently he couldn't resist her. Take a look at what happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACHARY LEVI, ACTOR: I would like to be the mother of your children and if you could just -- please don't touch -- not until we've talked, anyway. Just give me a second to explain.

BETTY WHITE, ACTRESS: Oh, thank you so much and forget those other women.

LEVI: Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: She is fantastic, fantastic. But, you know what; the most buzzed about appearance of the show last night did come from the President who demanded -- and I love this -- that Betty White prove she's actually 90 years old by producing a long form birth certificate. Take that Donald Trump, right?

PHILLIPS: Exactly. I'll tell you, Whoever produced the tribute, it was brilliant. Not a dull moment.

Nischelle, thanks so much. And if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, you can watch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT 11:00 eastern on HLN.

600,000 children sleep on the streets in Afghanistan. More than two million of them are orphans. Well, six of them join us next, sharing their amazing adventure across the United States.

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For many American families, packing the kids in an RV and touring the country can be the adventure of a lifetime. But we have a different story adventure today. Afghan orphans who have endured war, poverty and unimaginable loss. These remarkable kids are now on an unforgettable journey to see America. 50 states, 2 1/2 months, all packed in an Rv. Guess what? They stopped by to see us.

Ian Pounds is the American teacher in charge of this journey. Nasrin Sultani is an Afghan teacher who works with the kids; and Maria Bahim is actually a student who is traveling to the U.S. with the whole group, 17 years old. Welcome.

IAN POUNDS, AMERICAN TEACHER: Thank you for having us.

PHILLIPS: It's so great to have you. Ian, why this journey? Why I mean, you packed everything up. You moved to Afghanistan, you gave up your life in the United States to help these kids. Why is this journey so important to you?

POUNDS: Well, it was important to me to climb up into the mountains near Nuristan and see the village where many of the children come from. It's equally important for them to come and discover America where their teacher comes from, to immerse themselves, to develop a worldliness poise, communication skills, Everything a teacher values in education. So here we are and we are only a quarter of the way through of the journey.

PHILLIPS: Many more states to go. And Maria, what has stood out to you, being here in the united states?

MARIA FAHIM, AFGHAN ORPHAN: It's amazing. I like very much here. I learned more things and many experience.

PHILLIPS: Is there a place, a food? Tell me.

FAHIM: Yes. I like lobster.

PHILLIPS: The lobster, very good.

FAHIM: And also pizza. It's my favorite food.

Myra: Of course.

And I like in Philadelphia when I went there, I like very much the tall buildings. PHILLIPS: And you also visited the liberty bell, right?

FAHIM: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Nasrin, what has that been like for you as a teacher and working with these kids? What stands out to you? Is this the type of life that you want in Afghanistan as U.S. Troops are there changing things day by day?

NASRIN SULTANI, AFGHAN TEACHER: Yes, of course, we want to -- we want change in Afghanistan to be a developed country like one of the countries -- developed countries in the world. And it's like a very good experience to see the different things and to immerse in a new culture. And I think it's --

PHILLIPS: Ian, when you talk, obviously, with everyone, with Nasrin and the other kids, what stands out to you? What do they tell you that's making an impact on them? They're seeing democracy right here exactly what the whole war was about to make life different for them in their country.

POUNDS: Well, I think most notable is the freedom of girls and women to be in a position such as yours, to be equal to men. That's very outstanding to them. Also funny things like why do they put lights all over their houses? And I get the strangest questions, you know, about the most -- some of the little things we forget and we take for granted about our life here in America.

They see these things and they go, oh, wow, ok. So they remind me of what we take for granted every day in our lives here in America.

PHILLIPS: And Nasrin, it's interesting, he mentioned the Christmas lights that you noticed on homes. What else stood out to you?

SULTANI: Oh, there are many different things, like to me and the kids, they loved the John F. Kennedy center. We went there for a (INAUDIBLE) show and --

PHILLIPS: Yes, you saw our show. Yes. That's fantastic. We love your music and your dancing and your culture in Afghanistan. We love watching that and participating in that.

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with us. We would like to follow your journey, if that sounds good, ok? And we'll keep in touch and we would love to see the pictures. So Ian, we're counting on you to do that.

POUNDS: Every week I write a blog. And so people can join us on this journey if they will.

PHILLIPS: And I know people can also get involved in donating to the orphanage. I want to make a plug for that; you can learn more about these kids; how to sponsor these kids. All you have to do is go to the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization. That's AFCECO.org. There's the website right there. You can also visit Afghanistan blogs on CNN.com. HLN's Senior writer, (INAUDIBLE) Namdar actually brought us the story of this orphanage and these kids at the very beginning. And she's going to have more on their journey in the coming weeks.

Thank you all so much.

POUNDS: Thanks for having us.

PHILLIPS: All right. My honor.

Well, Food Network star Paula Dean has a health revelation. She's lived with Type two diabetes for three years and you're going to hear what she's going to do about it and why she waited so long to tell all of you.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Let's take a look at other events happening later in the CNN NEWSROOM that we'll be following for you. In just a few minutes, President Obama is going to meet with his jobs council to discuss ways to strengthen the economy and accelerate job growth.

Then at 1:00, we're going to head to L.A. and Lindsay Lohan is scheduled to appear in court for another update on her probation.

Then at 2:00, we expect a news conference in Orange County, California, police and FBI will update us on (INAUDIBLE) Ocampo who's accused in the killing four homeless men.

Well, in our daily dose, Celebrity chef, Paula Deen living with type two diabetes. She said she found out during a routine check up three years ago. Deen has built an empire on southern recipes loaded with butter and sugar. She says she decided not to talk about her diagnosis until now until because she needed to figure things out. But it was the business factor in not coming out sooner.

Here is what she said on NBC's "Today" show.

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PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF: People are not going to quit eating. We quit eating, we're all out of here. No. I wanted to bring something to the table when I came forward. And I've always been one to think that I bring hope because I've had lots of obstacles in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Deen did confirm that she's now a paid spokeswoman for drug maker Novo Nordisk (ph). The type of diabetes Deen has -- type two is the most common form of the disease. A total of about 26 million people are diabetics; 7 million people have it but have not been diagnosed.

"It's only a technical failure." Those words from the captain of the capsized Italian cruise liner speaking to the port authority moments after abandoning the ship.

Next hour Suzanne Malveaux will talk to a captain of a cargo ship about these disturbing recordings. She'll ask him if it's every man for himself of if the captain should be the very last person to leave.

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PHILLIPS: All right.

Our new CNN poll ranks the Republicans in a head to head matchups with President Obama. Paul Steinhauser joining us from Charleston, South Carolina, with the numbers. What do you have for us, Paul?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Kyra, let's get right to them. Hypothetical matchups, November, President Obama versus the leading Republicans. Take a look at this. President Obama versus former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Basically dead even right there. Look at that.

47 for the president; 48 percent for Romney -- what about Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas? Pretty much the same story. Again within the sampling error, pretty much all nodded up. But according to our poll the President does have a six-point advantage right now over former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and a nine-point advantage over the former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Kyra, one more point from this poll, this is interesting, remember back in 2010 Republicans had a big advantage on the enthusiasm gap? Look at this. Times have changed. We asked Democrats and Republicans if you're enthusiastic about voting come November. Look at it right now. Just a five-point advantage for the Republicans. It was almost 20 points back in November.

Kyra, we've got the bus here. We're at the base site. We are ready for Thursday night.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you are. Got the bus. Thanks, Paul. We'll have your next political update in just about an hour.

And a reminder, for the all the latest political news go to our Cnnpolitics.com. That does it for us. Suzanne Malveaux takes it from here.

You know, we don't have the bus.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you have the bus, the CNN Express bus. Lots gets done. That is what the political season has launched.

PHILLIPS: You've been there, you've done that.

MALVEAUX: I like to do so much. I'm telling you.

PHILLIPS: I understand the food is pretty good, too.

MALVEAUX: The food's pretty good. PHILLIPS: Have a great show.

MALVEAUX: Thanks.