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Romney Widens Lead In Florida; Hangout With Obama; U.N. Mulls Anti-Assad Vote; D.C. Orders Occupy Camping Ban; East Haven Police Chief To Retire; Appeal Planned In Honor Murders; WWII Vet Finally Gets Purple Heart; Fight Against Tropical Diseases
Aired January 30, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 1:00 and let's get straight to the news. Election eve in Florida and the closer we get, the biggest presidential nominating contested (ph) state, the wider the gap between the two main contenders. The weekend poll from Quinnipiac gives Mitt Romney a 14-point lead over Newt Gingrich. Among the likely GOP voters, Romney leads among conservatives, evangelicals, and Tea Party backers all of whom may got Gingrich's base. As for the former House speaker's famous speaking skills, Romney is on the attack there, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These debates have gone pretty well. Speaker Gingrich wasn't very happy with the debates, though. He said after the first debate that he didn't do well because the crowd was so quiet. It threw him off, yes. The second debate he said he didn't do well because the crowd was so loud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Gingrich is expected to speak at a rally in Tampa this hour. He says that the gap with Romney is, quote, "closing." I'll talk more about the numbers and where the rank goes after Florida with CNN's own Wolf Blitzer at the bottom of the hour.
Want to hang out with President Obama? Well, now is your chance. The president who hosted cyber town halls on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, now plans a virtual hang out on Google+, that's a video chat room source in which the president will answer questions, selected by Google not the White House, and participants can comment in real time. A few will be invited to take part in live conversations. It starts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, and it's supposed to last about 45 minutes.
Almost a year in Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters. The U.N. may call for regime change. A draft resolution would order Syria's president to hand over power to a unity government and a print source claims at least 10 security council members are on board. Russia isn't so it is offering to host peace talks which Damascus supposedly has accepted. The opposition has not.
Another 50 people are reported killed today in at least four Syrian cities, 36 in Homs. Afghanistan is reportedly planning direct peace talks with the Taliban. These could happen in the next few weeks in Saudi Arabia separately and before the Taliban's expected contracts with Washington. Those are planned through an office the Taliban is opening in Qatar.
A tense situation going on right now in Washington between Occupy D.C. protesters and police. A no camping rule is now being enforced, these are live pictures here, at two parks where Occupy protesters have been demonstrating for months. They were told to clear out all of their camping gear by noon or possibly face arrests. Demonstrators are not backing down and defending the sites. Police have not made any move just yet. We'll have more on this in a live report from our Brian Todd in just about 12 minutes.
In Connecticut, East Haven's embattled police chief is retiring. Leonard Gallo has been under fire since four officers were arrested by the FBI on charges of racially profiling members of the Latino community in East Haven. Gallo's retirement is effective February 3rd. The town's mayor, Joseph Maturo says he supports Gallop's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JOSEPH MATURO JR., EAST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT: Chief Gallo has always been an unwavering supporter of the town of East Haven. He has been a devoted public servant and performed admirably in both his personal and professional life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The major, as you may recall, caused a fire storm last week when he suggested that he would eat tacos to improve the town's relationship with Latino immigrants. He later apologized.
In Canada, three members of a family from Afghanistan plan to appeal their murder convictions. Three teenage sisters and one of their father's wives were victims of so-called honor murders. Prosecutors put the father, the mother and their son on trial for killing the victims allegedly for being, quote, "too westernized." We talked to a professor who says honor murders are not Islamic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRSHAD MANJI, PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: Muslims themselves often confuse culture with religion. This thing, honor killing, is not Islamic. I say this as a faithful Muslim. It is, however, a problem within Muslim because of how Muslims often confuse culture and religion. So, you can't blame non-Muslims for scratching their heads and wondering, what the hell is going on?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Three sisters and the father's first wife were found dead in a car that plunged into a canal back in 2009.
Unfortunate timing for American express. Some folks who received a brochure in the mail from American Express to take a Mediterranean cruise vacation on the ill-fated Costa Concordia. The back side of the brochure said, immerse yourself in a truly European experience. At least 17 people died recently when the Costa Concordia crashed on the Italian coast. A representative from American Express told the "Washington Post" the brochure was done several weeks ago and was too late to pull that mailing.
Leprosy, a worm disease, a sleeping sickness, more than a billion people suffering. How Bill Gates is working to eliminate 10 tropical diseases. A live report, next.
But first, can you imagine waiting seven decades for something? Well, that's how long World War II veteran Aaron Narvol has waited for an honor he earned on the battlefield. He took a bullet in his leg while trying to save another soldier in Okinawa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON NARVOL, VETERAN, WORLD WAR II: I said, don't worry about me. I said, worry about my buddy there because he got shot first. And he came back within a minute or two and he said, I'm sorry, he's gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That was nearly 70 years ago but his purple heart arrived just in time for his 93rd birthday. While the honor was long overdue, Mr. Narvol, your courage is hardly forgotten. That makes you today's Rock Star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In one of the biggest and most ambitious undertakings of its kind ever, major drug companies along with Bill Gates and others agreed today on a $785 million program aimed at controlling or wiping out 10 so-called neglected tropical diseases. According to the World Health Organization, these diseases kill, blind and disable millions of the world's poorest people. Bill Gates is the driving force behind this global campaign. The bill and Melinda Gates foundation alone has pledged $363 million to the program.
Max Foster is in London where today's meeting took place. And Max, first tell us about the diseases that are actually being targeted by this new campaign.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are lots of diseases which we wouldn't have heard of, and they're often parasitic diseases, but another one, for example, is leprosy. And they cause huge amounts of harm in countries, particularly in Africa, where villages are being destroyed by these diseases. But they are not headline diseases, for example, like Malaria. So, they have earmarked 10 diseases they really want to sort out which has made a huge impact. And it's different this time around. (INAUDIBLE) have been initiatives before. What we're seeing here is lots of different organizations coming together and collaborating.
So, you have several governments, including the U.S. governments, the Gates Foundation that you mentioned, but also crucially the big drugs companies all coming together, working together to try to resolve this. If I can give you an example about what went wrong before, for example, there may be a leprosy drug which companies are willing to give away to countries where they can't afford to buy it. But there isn't a transport and distribution system to get it out, so it doesn't end up getting out. So, what they are doing is trying to collaborate all of the different parts of the process to make sure it works this time.
KAYE: So, have these diseases actually been neglected or at least some of them in the past? And if so, why?
FOSTER: Well, they've been neglected simply because other diseases, like malaria, have more attention focused on them more or HIV AIDS, for example. And it's very complicated to deal with some of these and need particular drugs. But if you get all of the drug companies involved, I spoke to the head of Glaxo-Smith Kline, and he's a key player. He can create a drug for Leprosy, for example, and make it happen.
And he's created a new pricing structure. He's got to make profits for his shareholders, they would question him if he didn't. So, he takes a culture and sees what they can afford and he reduces the price, therefore, for that country. A country like the U.S. will pay full market price against the profits there, but overall he's helping everyone get the drugs to where it's needed but people that can't afford it can still get it.
KAYE: And when do you expect that we might see results? I mean, this is obviously a big undertaking and may take some time.
FOSTER: Absolutely. The world bank set targets at 2020 to major in rows (ph). That the date, really, that they are heading for. I spoke to an official from Tanzania where they've got huge problems with elephantiasis, for example, which is a parasitic problem. I spoke to him and he's saying, you know, we can make this happen now, because we're going to get the support. And he does promise that there will be no corruption in the process.
But it's the other issue, Randi, which you all know about is that if you offer free drugs to a country where there isn't much money, there's a lot of poverty perhaps, and drugs end up in the hands of middle men and they charge for it. But what he's saying and the head of Glaxo-Smith Kline is saying that the process is to get the drug to the poor, to get it out to the villages as quickly as possible without going through any middle men. So, that's another difference here, trying to get rid of the corruption in the system. They seem to have the right idea this time.
KAYE: Yes, it certainly sounds that way and it's great that they are taking the initiative here. Max Foster, thank you very much. And you can learn much more about this next hour when Max Foster returns with even more details on this report.
Police moving in, Occupy protesters standing their ground. Once again, live pictures there in Washington, D.C. It is getting tense in the capital. Why D.C. says these protesters are breaking the law. We'll have a live report straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Washington D.C. is ground zero in the Occupy movement this hour with the National Park Service warning campers to clear out. The D.C. confrontation follows a weekend of tear gas and mass arrests.
Saturday after protesters were prevented from taking over a vacant auditorium in the heart of downtown, about 400 people were arrested there. The violence carried over into the night. Officials also say City Hall was damaged but expected to open today.
Elsewhere, mostly nonviolent occupy protests were carried out in cities across the country, including New York, Chicago, Tampa, and Des Moines, Iowa. Now back to Washington where Occupy campers are standing their ground. Brian Todd is in the thick of it.
Brian, first of all, why is the park service cracking down and why now?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, it kind of came to a head in recent days with a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill where Congressman Darrell Issa of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, both he and the D.C. government have kind of pressured the National Park Service to move in here and do something about the protesters. At that hearing last week, the Park Service was pressured to come in, at least do something about the people who they think are camping out here. So that's what they're doing today. We think they're going to be moving in soon.
If you look over here, some of the protesters have been kind of gathering around some of the police who have just been basically standing here, not really doing anything yet. They've said they were going to move in and get rid of possibly who they call the campers. People with bedding and personal effects. People who seen to be maybe camping out here. They're going to try to target them possibly for (ph) arrests. Maybe take down some of their tents.
Some people here were crowding around a police officer. Just kind of taunting him. Harassing him. He wasn't doing anything but standing there.
We're going to take a little walk over here. Our photojournalist Olive Danny (ph) is going to walk with me. I'm going to show you what they did to the statue of James McPherson here. I'm going to move through this crowd a little bit here, Randi. Take a look at the statue. They just put a massive tarp with a sign over it a little while ago. There's a lot of singing and dancing, chanting going on over here. People kind of displaying what they think of the possible police action.
But the police have not moved in yet. And again, what they've said is, this is not going to be kind of a massive sweep. They're not going to arrest everybody. They're not going to move everybody out, as they have in some other "Occupy" protests. They're just going to be targeting people who they think are camping. People with bedding, personal effects and other things like that. So some of the protesters have moved some of those items out of here. And we'll see what happens maybe later if they try to move back in, Randi.
KAYE: And tell me what happened yesterday, because it looks pretty calm there -- out there today. But yesterday there was one protesters that was -- actually a stun gun was used on him. Can you tell me what happened with that? All right, I think we lost Brian there. All right, Brian Todd reporting for us there. We'll get back to you on the latest information on that as we continue to watch it as well.
Tomorrow, Florida's Republicans decide who they want to be president. And their decision could be key to who makes it to November. CNN's Brooke Baldwin visits a retirement community. Find out who retirees plan on voting for. She'll join us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: GOP candidates are courting the all important retiree vote for the Florida primary tomorrow. Brooke Baldwin is in Tampa.
And, Brooke, I bet you got an earful from the folks there. What are the retirees telling you?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I spent my entire day yesterday, Randi, with a group of 70-year-olds and 80-year-olds. Here are my two take-a-ways. Number one, I'm going to have to up my golf game to hang with this crowd if I ever want to retire in Sun City Center, Florida. And, number two, talking to them in terms of dollars and cents and how much they have saved, it made me realize that in 15 minutes I need to hire a financial planner stat. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you get up depending on when you're going to play golf.
BALDWIN: So the day's decisions revolve around golf.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Right.
BALDWIN (voice-over): From hitting the links (ph), to sunning by the pool, to sporting their hotrods, the biggest worry for Jan and Ken Myers (ph), the gators.
BALDWIN (on camera): Do you all consider yourself successful?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and fortunate.
BALDWIN: Because of all the choices that you all made, what do you get to reap?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think, you know, Johnny Carson said one time, the greatest thing about having money, is not having to worry about it.
BALDWIN (voice-over): After many years working as a vice president for a major company and faithfully stuffing money into savings --
BALDWIN (on camera): But you moved into this community how many years ago?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven.
BALDWIN: Seven years ago.
BALDWIN (voice-over): The Myers can afford to retire well. And in high season, they're not alone. Twenty-four thousand retirees live just like them here in Sun City, Florida.
JOYCE GIARD, RETIREE: We have never been in debt, ever. We bought our first automobile, paid cash. We bought our first home and we paid cash.
BALDWIN: Joyce Giard retired to Florida from Gross Point, Michigan, nearly 20 years ago. The sepganarian (ph) and mother of six calls herself a depression baby, meaning she learned to be frugal from birth. Girard has a little advice for the younger, or as she has dubbed them, the spender generation.
GIARD: To take part of their salary and not live up to their full income. To tear up your credit cards.
BALDWIN (on camera): What do you mean by that?
GIARD: I don't think they realize when they're putting money onto a credit card how much it's mounting up.
BALDWIN (voice-over): But there's an alarming disparity between Giard's generation and their kids, the baby boomers, says financial planner Robin Payant.
ROBIN PAYANT, FINANCIAL PLANNER: Today, with layoffs and things happening and people might have five or six jobs in their working life. They didn't save for their retirement. They didn't -- a lot of them didn't -- they don't put money in their 401(k)s?
BALDWIN (on camera): But why? Like I mean the economy's different. We're in a different place in so many ways.
PAYANT: Because they can't afford it, you know.
BALDWIN: They can't afford it.
PAYANT: They can't do that $500, you know, a month to --
BALDWIN: They can't pay cash for their homes.
PAYANT: Right. They can't. They can't pay cash for their homes.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Still, there are steps you can take now to live worry free in your golden years.
BALDWIN (on camera): What three piece of advice would you tell a 35- year-old today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing I would say is, you know, don't give up. Persevere. The second thing is, you've got to find a career that you like and you enjoy. And the third thing is, have a plan. You have to have a plan, not only for your family, but also for your personal income and your personal growth. What you're doing today but also what you will be or what you're going to be in 20 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Well, it certainly sounds like those folks speak from experience, Brooke. But I'm sure you talked to a lot of people. I mean what are some of the other issues that seniors say are important to them?
BALDWIN: Well, I would say, among the crowd I spoke with yesterday, obviously, health care is huge for them. Being also, you know, depression babies, learning how to be frugal, paying down the countries debt, another big issue. But really it's the economy and, you know, you're thinking, why is it the economy? Obviously they're doing pretty well, right, in their golden years. They're thinking about their kids. They're thinking about their grandkids.
In fact, the couple I was rolling along with in that golf cart, they have four kids together. One of their daughters got her masters in London. Smart -- it sounds like a very smart young woman -- but couldn't get a job back in the United States of the caliber and of the pay that she felt she deserved. And so she's actually staying in London. Not even coming home to work. Staying in London just so she can be paid well and have a job that she's earned.
KAYE: Have they made up their mind? I mean do they know who they want, who's going to be best for their future and their kids and grandkids' future?
BALDWIN: Gosh, it's a tough one. Who I never heard anyone mention, Ron Paul. And it seemed to me that people I spoke with, they either like Mitt Romney or they like Newt Gingrich. I know Romney is ahead in, you know, multiple polls, in double digits, but I certainly didn't hear from more people that they like Mitt Romney. It was sort of split. But they're all very engaged and they know every vote counts.
KAYE: You're going to be doing your show there from -- from there today coming up at 2:00 Eastern. What do you have coming up?
BALDWIN: Yes, a rough life, getting sent to Florida to have to cover this primary. We have a number of guests coming up at the top of the hour. We'll be talking to Andrea Solis (ph). She is the press secretary for Mitt Romney. We're going to be talking about how we're seeing a much different Mitt Romney here in Florida, campaigning. A much more aggressive Romney.
And also we've been seeing some folks from the Romney camps -- you know, I've been reading. The words people are using is infiltrating. Infiltrating some of these Gingrich events. We're going to talk about why that is, the strategy there. Also we're having on the mayor of Tampa, not just rolling out the welcome mat for us here at CNN, but for the RNC at the end of August. What that will mean in terms of dollars and cents for his city. Keep in mind, the I-4 corridor a very key GOP stronghold. I'm sure that's one of the reasons this city got the RNC.
And, finally, if I may lean over and grab some of my props, if you know Tampa, you know pirates, right? So the Tampa Bay Bucs this past weekend, right when we got into town, a little party called Gasparilla. Think Mardi Gras with pirates. So we're doing little fun, political pop today, Randi Kaye. We're talking pirates and politics at the top of the hour.
KAYE: Are you going to put on that pirate hat at some point, because I'll tune in for that.
Oh, boy.
BALDWIN: There you go.
KAYE: All right, you've done it now. Brooke Baldwin, we'll see you in about a half an hour. Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: See ya.
KAYE: And remember to watch our special coverage of the Florida primary right here on CNN Tuesday night starting 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Just one day until the Florida primary and Mitt Romney appears to be the favorite. So what happens after the votes are cast? Wolf Blitzer breaks it all down. He'll join me live in the CNN world headquarters straight ahead.
Now it's time for our political junkie question. Who is the only former speaker of the House to be elected president of the United States? And you can tweet the answer to me @randikayecnn. If you get it right, I've give a shout-out to the first person with that right answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Before the break I asked, who was the only former speaker of the House to be elected president of the United States. The answer was the 11th president, James K. Polk. Tennessee congressman also served as the Tennessee governor before winning the White House. Congratulations to Allen (ph) from Long Island for tweeting me the right answer first.
We keep saying tomorrow is primary election day in Florida. But almost 600,000 Sunshine State Republicans have already voted with absentee ballots or in person at early voting sites. That means a third of the voter turnout is no longer up for grabs. And nothing any candidate says or does at this point can get them back.
Wolf Blitzer is joining us now. I have a big question for you.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: Yes.
KAYE: With this wave of early voting, does that take the steam out of Mitt Romney's surge in Florida?
BLITZER: A lot of people think the early voting has helped Mitt Romney. A lot of thse early voters, absentee ballots have gone for Mitt Romney so it might help him. We'll see what happens over the next 24 hours. The actual begins tomorrow morning and winds up tomorrow night. I suspect it will be a good day for Mitt Romney if you believe all of these most recent polls. There were four within the last 24 hours alone. It would show an eight or nine point lead up to a 16 or 17-point lead. It's looking good. But there's still 24 hours to go so let's be cautious.
KAYE: The numbers are different but they are all in his favor. Romney admits that going negative has certainly helped him. He had a few choice words on the campaign trail for Newt Gingrich. But Newt Gingrich fired back today. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can feel it over the last three days and it's beginning to close again. Just as we had in South Carolina, there was this huge wave of dishonest Romney ads. So people back up and said, whoa, wow -- and frankly, if all of that stuff was true, I wouldn't vote for myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: There he is saying he wouldn't vote for himself if all this stuff was true. How is Newt doing in this mud-slinging contest?
BLITZER: In terms of the ads, the Romney campaign and so-called super PACs y have spent millions and millions, a lot more money in Florida than the pro Newt Gingrich ads have been. They are nasty on both sides. You see how nasty these ads can get. But they work. That's why politicians do these negative attack ads because they work. Some people might be turned off. But if you keep hammering away at the nastiness, and it makes a point -- I think that's why.
In Iowa, for example, all of pro-Romney attack ads against Newt Gingrich hurt him badly. He didn't do well in Iowa. In South Carolina, he did do well. But South Carolina is next to Georgia, his home state. It's more attuned to Newt Gingrich. Florida is a more diverse state. The northern part of the state is like the south. The southern part of the state is more like the north. It has a big diversity factor, much more so than South Carolina.
KAYE: Speaking of South Carolina, Florida, we're going to be done with that and then move on to Nevada. Who has the advantage, would you say? BLITZER: Mitt Romney definitely has the advantage in Nevada. And that will be next Saturday. A very large Mormon population. He won Nevada four years ago, Mitt Romney. I think he will do very, very well in Nevada, and then the following states, he's got certain advantages as well, not only in Missouri but in Michigan, which his dad was the governor. He was born in Michigan. Arizona, once again, a very large Mormon population. February looks like a good month for Mitt Romney. But then comes Super Tuesday, March 6th. A lot of southern states where Newt Gingrich could do well.
KAYE: You say Romney could do well, is expected to do well in Nevada but that's also where Newt Gingrich's big bank roll is that has been funding a lot of these super PACs.
BLITZER: Yes.
KAYE: Would that help Mitt Romney at all?
BLITZER: If he wants to shell another $5 or $10 million, but it's getting close to the end. This coming Saturday is Nevada. It's sort of late, in Nevada, but every day in these campaigns is really, really important.
KAYE: What do you make of the post-Florida contests are not winner take all? The delegates are divided. He's talking about staying in this because of that for the long run.
BLITZER: He's got a good point. Florida is winner take all. They'll be all the delegates -- whoever comes in first in Florida gets all of the delegates to the delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa. A lot of these upcoming states, you divide it up based on the percentages you could. Somebody might get 51 percent, 49 percent, whatever. You divide it up.
Newt Gingrich, if he wants to keep this going through February, March, April, May -- remember, four years ago, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama did not wrap it up until June. I remember covering the Puerto Rico primary in early June. That's when it finally ended for Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama got the nomination. People said, this is going to divide the Democrats and make the Democrats weak, they are undermining themselves. It made Barack Obama a much better candidate going up against John McCain. It's fair to say, Mitt Romney, with each week, is becoming a better, more assertive, better campaigner.
KAYE: Better focused.
BLITZER: If he's going to be the Republican nominee, this is sort of like warm-up session, getting ready for a general election against the incumbent president of the United States.
KAYE: This is sort of a warm-up session for you because you have your own show coming up at 4:00 eastern?
BLITZER: Yes.
KAYE: What do you have coming up? BLITZER: We're going to some surrogates, some supporters from both sides. John McCain, who supports Mitt Romney, is going to be joining us. J.C. Watts, the former congressman of Oklahoma is going to be joining us. We'll get different perspective. I also want to speak John McCain because he's really angry at the governments of Pakistan and Egypt for different reasons, but both of these countries get billions of dollars in U.S. assistance.
The Egyptians won't let the son of Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, leave the country because he's been part of this Republican Institute group promoting democracy. And in Pakistan, they are going after this physician who helped the CIA find bin Laden, accusing him of treason. McCain is really angry about both of these developments. We'll get some fireworks.
KAYE: I'm sure we will.
Wolf, thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you.
KAYE: Nice to see you again.
Watch our special coverage of the Florida primary right here on CNN, Tuesday night starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern time.
One day until the Florida primary and the stakes are high. It's shaping up to be a two-man race. Will Florida be the tiebreaker and help thin out the GOP field? That is "Fair Game," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This is the part of the show where all sides are "Fair Game." The Florida primary is one day away. And it's shaping up as a two-man race. But is it Newt Gingrich versus Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich against Rick Santorum?
Joining me now is CNN contributor, Will Cain, and Democratic political consultant, Ed Espinoza.
Great to see you guys.
Will, I'll start with you. What do you think? Where is Gingrich focusing his attention?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Definitely, on Mitt Romney. I think that Mitt Romney feels that it's going to be a two-man battle. I think he thinks if he can unify -- and he's said this recently -- the anti-Mitt Romney vote into one camp, that being his camp, he will be a formidable opponent. I think this. If Rick Santorum bows out, I don't think all of his voters would go over to Gingrich. I think some will go to Mitt Romney as well. I don't think there's a cohesive voting bloc that Mitt Romney can count on.
KAYE: Listen to this sound bite from Newt Gingrich yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: I think that is worth a serious debate and it will go all the way to the convention. We have no evidence that Romney anywhere is close to getting a majority and when you take al of the non-Romney votes, it's very likely at the convention that there will be a non-Romney majority. My job is to convert that into a pro- Gingrich majority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Ed, what do you think? Are supporters up for grabs? If Santorum has left the state and is going to campaign in other states, what do you make of it?
ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Santorum's voters are definitely Fair Game right now. And this is something that we do in political campaigns. All of the voters in the state tell us where they are registered, who they are, and what their phone number is. A well-executed campaign will begin identifying voters early on to see where the support is and they will mark that I.D., put it as a tag in the voter file.
Now, this morning when Herman Cain endorsed Newt Gingrich, he said, I know our volunteers are on the phone right now. What I would be doing with one of my candidates, they would be calling Santorum saying, listen, your guy is not in the race right now. We would like your support. If you're not with Romney, come with us and make a statement. They can do it with live volunteers. It's very efficient. It's where they are focusing all of their efforts today.
KAYE: Let's talk about the Cain train pulling into the Gingrich station. Will, a little too late or can he help this guy, or what?
CAIN: Not my train. The Will Cain train. The Herman Cain train.
KAYE: Sorry.
CAIN: It has pulled into the Newt station. It will help. Herman Cain has an audience for 9-9-9 and it will help Newt Gingrich. There is a wave of people riding the Newt Gingrich popularity and it's usually people on the edges of politics, people like me and Ed to some degree. It's interesting to see Herman Cain, Sarah Palin, on and on, speaking so kindly, glowingly of Newt Gingrich. You ask yourself why? What's going on? It's because that's where the audience is. They are putting themselves out in front of the audience. No one is going to build an audience by saying I think Mitt Romney is the guy. I think they are being front-runners.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Ed, you want to weigh in?
ESPINOZA: What else is interesting -- yes, I think that the Herman Cain thing is important because Newt's the only -- Gingrich has been the only guy to coalesce support from candidates who dropped out of the race. It hasn't meant that he's the only alternative but it helps. There is -- to use the Herman Cain phrase, there is something that Blitz said -- an endorsement before the primary doesn't help an early vote. Early vote is critical in these primaries. So it can help him a little bit but there's a bunch that have cast ballots that might have gone to Gingrich otherwise that otherwise those votes are already cast now.
KAYE: When you look at what Gingrich is saying, that he's going to stay in this until the convention because delegates are still up for grabs, the GOP camp cannot be happy about that.
CAIN: You know, I don't think so. I feel like I've talked about that a lot recently. Is this very, very damaging to the potential candidate to go through these big ballots and have the bloody fights? I don't think so. If it's Mitt Romney that is the event you'll nominee, when he sees somewhat unprepared, shockingly like his tax returns early on, he doesn't do well. But the more he's confronted with it, the better he does. He's going through the process of facing all of his own weaknesses early on. I don't see anything to pull your hair out about if you're a Republican.
KAYE: Ed?
ESPINOZA: Well, this is the first time the primaries have proportional allocation of the delegates. So it could go a while. But when you look at Florida, the most important primary between that and Super Tuesday is not a win or take all primary. It's the money primary. The person who continues to raise enough money to compete in those little states on Super Tuesday is going to be the one left standing as the alternative to Romney. Whether that person can fund that campaign through the election or not or through the rest of the season or not, is going to determine how far the state goes.
KAYE: Will Cain, Ed Espinoza, thank you very much.
That is "Fair Game" today.
ESPINOZA: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: A reminder. CNN's expanded coverage of the Florida primary kicks off tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. with a special edition "John King, USA" and then join Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper for analysis, 7:00 p.m. eastern.
A bunch of college hopefuls, excited to hear that they were accepted to college but the only thing is the school didn't mean to accept them. The college's big mistake, next.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: I am Randi Kaye. I was born in Yonkers, New York and I grew up in New York. I have two sisters and one brother. My mother was a kindergarten teacher. My father worked his way up the corporate ladder so he could send us all to college. My great grandfather came over from Poland and my grandfather came over here from Russia. I am America.
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KAYE: There's just a little background for you. CNN wants to hear your story as well. What makes you American? You can visit our web site to take part in "I Am America." We'd love to hear from you.
Well, now it's time to check out stories making news at "Street Level."
We head to where dozens of students got an acceptance letter for college but it caused the wrong admission status to be accepted. While the college fixed the problem within 30 minutes, more than 100 applicants had logged on to the site. Of those, 76 got acceptance letters when, in reality, they had been denied. Vassar issued a statement apologizing for the confusion and the disappointment.
A troubling update in the search for a missing toddler in Waterville, Maine. Police say blood found at her father's home belongs to the Ayla Reynolds. That's according to test results completed by the state crime lab. Ayla's family posted the news saying investigators told them the blood found was more than a small cut would produce. The blood was discovered back at the home soon after she was reported missing back in December. Police are now casting doubt on Ayla's father, girlfriend and Ayla's aunt, who were in the home when Ayla was last seen. Her father, refusing to talk about the blood test results while attending a vigil for his daughter.
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JUSTIN DIPIETRO, FATHER OF AYLA: I'm not here to answer any questions now. I'm here to show my support --
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DIPIETRO: Just supporting Ayla.
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KAYE: The school system in Leroy, New York, is taking action as more than a dozen students continue to experience a mysterious illness. They continue to investigate the community. Erin Brockovich is adding her voice to the investigation. She pointed to a train derailment on 470, just four miles from that school. She told Dr. Drew that may have something to do with the students' uncontrollable outbursts and twitching.
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ERIN BROCHOVICH, ATTORNEY & ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: There was a very serious train derailment that caused one ton of cyanide to spill and 45,000 gallons of TCE.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: The school superintendent says the district is working with local, state and federal health environmental agencies. A statement posted earlier on the school's web site said, "The medical and environmental investigations have not uncovered any evidence that would link the neurological symptoms in anything in the environment of an infectious nature."
Erin Brockovich tells more about her investigation with Dr. Drew, and you can catch that at 9:00 eastern.
A Facebook post turned into this. According to affiliate, a simple conversation between two friends made history. You're looking at the nation's first parade to welcome home military men and women who served in Iraq since the last troops were withdrawn in December.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so excited to be here. I knew it was going to be big but I didn't know it was going to be this big, and it's just really cool.
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KAYE: An estimated 1,000 people lined the street for that parade.
Now in New York, it's taken 400 miles and a dedicated team of pilots for this little puppy to find a new home. Look at that little face. According to affiliate, News 12 Long Island, a local group couldn't find a volunteer who would drive the pup up from Virginia. That's when a group of pilots stepped up. Kevin Ford is among the group of pilots that volunteer their time and spend their own money to fly pets to new homes.
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KEVIN FORD, PILOTS & PAWS: You're doing some good and helping out somebody, and helping out the pet, especially.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And doing what you love.
FORD: And at the same time, getting some flying in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: He can fly that little guy right to my house.
A foster family has taken in the 15-week-old puppy to get her healthy and ready for adoption.
In Florida, a Republican state senator wants to stop people form buying junk food with food stamps. Rhonda Storms told the "Los Angeles Times" it upset her when Florida was cutting school programs and jobs while people were indulging in fatty sugary, highly processed treats on the public dime. She said it motivated her to sponsor a bill that would prohibit that. However, a bill to restrict food stamp purchases has been distributed in Illinois, Oregon, Vermont and Texas and not one has been successful.
And Rancho Mirage, California, you could live like a president. Gerald Ford's former home now up for sale. 6300 square feet, it has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and a lap pool. And you can't beat the view. It's on the 13th fairway of the famous Thunderbird Country Club. Price tag? $100 million.
You could buy a car once owned by President Obama. A car once leased by then-Senator Obama is up for bid. Current bid? Just $1 million. There is an Illinois certificate of title showing Barack Obama as lessee, but she wouldn't say how she got a hold of it. A spokesman for the White House would not immediately comment.
Trying to squeeze every last vote out of the Sunshine State. How contested is the campaign crush in Florida with less than one day to go until the polls open? We'll find out next.
Now it's time for our "Political Junkie" question. Which state has the most registered voters over the age of 65? Put your thinking caps on. Tweet me the answer at Randikaye@CNN. If you get it right, you get a shout out right after the break.
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KAYE: Before the break, I asked which state has the largest number of registered voters over the age of 65. The answer is California. Florida is second followed by New York and Texas. I want to give a big congrats to John in Austin for tweeting me the right answer. First, a lot of you guessed Florida. Makes sense, but it's actually California.
Time now to check in with our Jim Acosta. He is in Florida for a Mitt Romney event. Hard to keep track where all the candidates are, but he is our man on the ground there.
Hey, Jim, what's going on?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are about 200 people here to hear Mitt Romney speak. It's a mad dash for votes in this last day before the Florida primary. Newt Gingrich has five. And Gingrich has some ground to make up. Mitt Romney has roughly a 10-point lead depending on which poll you're looking at. That's not good news for Newt Gingrich, who was hoping for some big momentum after that Florida primary. Part of the reason why is the Romney campaign has really gone after Newt Gingrich with a sort of scorched- earth strategy. The ads have been tough. The rhetoric also has been tough.
Listen to what Romney has had to say about Gingrich's time as an adviser for Freddie Mac and all that money he made from the mortgage giant, and he has not let go of that issue the entire time he's been down here in Florida.
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MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People recognize the policies that got us into this mess included the fact that we had something called Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and they were guaranteed mortgages where they knew people couldn't possibly pay it back. A huge bubble erupted. People got hurt by it. And the fact that somebody is running for president at the time that was going on, $1 6 billion, that just irks people. And I think that's why Speaker Gingrich is having such a hard time. I also think people realize if you want change in Washington, you can't just elect different people to take different chairs.
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KAYE: Suggestions of the tax returns were a problem for Mitt Romney in South Carolina. The Freddie Mac issue has been a problem for Newt Gingrich. It doesn't make things any easier for the former speaker that Florida is one of the foreclosure capitals in the country. That has made matters worse for the former speaker down here Florida -- Randi?
KAYE: Jim Acosta for us that. That event starts just a few minutes from now.
Jim, thank you very much.
Thank you for watching. As always, I'd love to hear what you think. You can continue the conversation with me on line. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter at Randikaye@CNN.
CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Brooke Baldwin, who is live in Tampa, Florida.
Hey, Brooke.
BALDWIN: It is a beautiful Monday afternoon here in Tampa.
Randi, thank you so much.
