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Newt Gingrich Trails Mitt Romney by Double Digits; Inside Syria's Protest Movement; Arizona City Council Candidate Barred for Lack of English Proficiency; Restaurant Owner Kicks out Republican Senator; Romney, Gingrich Take Tough Stand against DREAM Act; Romney Speaks at Tampa Event; Floridians Fight to Keep Their Home

Aired January 31, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

The ads, the attacks -- finally decision day in the Florida primary. Voting under way in the biggest contest so far.

Newt Gingrich has watched his momentum in Florida fade. He's not giving up, however, even though polls show him trailing Mitt Romney by double digits. Gingrich is hoping to drum up last-minute support at a campaign stop in Lakeland, Florida, this hour.

Now, earlier today he visited a voting precinct near Orlando on the eve of the primary. Gingrich pledged to stay in the race all the way to the Republican Convention in Tampa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to beat a big lie campaign with a big truth campaign. We're going to beat money power with people power. We are going to go all the way to the convention, and we are going to win in Tampa, and we are going to be the nominee with your help of the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: But if the polls are right, Mitt Romney is likely to be the big winner in Florida after the votes are counted. His healthy lead hasn't stopped him from taking a few final shots at Newt Gingrich. Romney and his supporters have pounded Gingrich the past week, a barrage of negative ads. He describes the Gingrich campaign as desperate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know the Speaker is not real happy, Speaker Gingrich. He's not feeling very excited these days.

I know, it's sad. He's been flailing around a bit, trying to go after me for one thing or the other, and you just watch it and you shake your head. It's been kind of painfully revealing to watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: A poll released just within the last hour confirms what survey after survey has shown. Mitt Romney has a healthy lead over Newt Gingrich and the rest of the Republican field in Florida.

In the American Research Group poll, Romney is at 43 percent, compared to 31 percent for Gingrich. Rick Santorum is a distant third, at 13 percent. Ron Paul, trailing at 9 percent.

The two candidates bringing up the rear in Florida have already moved on to some of the next contests on the calendars, so we're talking about Rick Santorum making one stop in Colorado today before heading to Las Vegas tonight. Ron Paul has several stops in Colorado today as well. He's also going to end up in Nevada.

The Nevada caucuses are this Saturday. Colorado holds its caucuses on February 7th. That is a week from today.

So we're going to go beyond the headlines, the horse race of this election. Here's a look at what we're covering over the next couple hours.

Our political insiders are going to give us their take on the race in Florida, including Mitt Romney's surge. Demographic diversity. We're going to break down the makeup of the state. And jobs.

You're going to hear from real voters looking for work in Florida. A couple who lost their jobs trying desperately to hang on to a piece of the American dream.

And the next contest. We're going to fast forward to some of the states ahead and the delegates at stake.

But first, a chance to "Talk Back" on a big problem facing this country. What is it going to do to take Americans -- get Americans to lose weight? According to the Centers for Disease Control, it costs Americans $147 billion each year to take care of obesity-related medical issues.

Carol Costello, she is joining us from Washington with more.

And Carol, folks try really, really hard to lose weight, but this is a -- it's such a big problem in our country now.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, and it's tough for -- well, it's tough for most of us to lose weight.

But if you want to change someone's behavior, scare the pants off them. That's the theory behind a new weight loss ad in New York.

It's all over the Web, but take a look. An overweight man who apparently lost his leg to Type 2 Diabetes, a condition associated with obesity.

Never mind the picture has been altered, this guy is an actor, and according to "The New York Times," he has both legs, but that doesn't matter. The ad makers say the scary message does.

Diabetes can lead to a loss of your foot or your leg or your eyesight. But will fear persuade people to diet or will it lead to a backlash like so many other campaigns before it? I mean, Georgia tried shame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like going to school, because all the other kids pick on me. It hurts my feelings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Some parents despise these ads. They say they exploited children.

Movie stars try to set an example like, let's say, oh, Jennifer Hudson, but many fans were disappointed Hudson no longer embraced her curves. The first lady, Michelle Obama, pushes healthy eating, but some consider her a food Nazi. Some governments try -- state and local governments -- taxing sugary soda, but the big soda companies have very effective lobbyists.

The truth is, there are so many contradictions when it comes to obesity, health and beauty. I mean, we're confused.

Dare I mention Paula Deen, queen of butter, Type 2 Diabetes? I'll just say "Maxim" named Deen sexiest chef a few months ago because of her love of butter.

There's no denying this though -- about one-third of American adults are obese, and approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents are not just overweight, but obese.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: What will it take to get Americans to lose weight?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: Oh, Carol, you're going to be inundated with comments on that one.

When I was with my family this weekend we had a debate over the whole Paula Deen -- who's responsible, whether or not she had a responsibility to share her Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, and pushing the butter, the fat, all that kind of thing. Everybody has got a different opinion about this.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, you are right about that. Well, I mean, I personally think she should have revealed that fact. She kept it secret for, what, three years while pushing all that buttery, fattening food?

MALVEAUX: Yes. But my lawyer sister would disagree. And I was surprised. There are a lot of people still arguing over that, but it's a great question, and so we'll see what folks got to say.

Thank you, Carol. Appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering.

First, in Syria, the crackdown against protesters is now getting bloodier.

Then, dust off your telescopes. A big asteroid heading towards Earth.

And should you have to speak fluent English to run for city office? That question has one Arizona town divided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can speak English a little, maybe, but it's enough for the city council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. More now on Newt Gingrich's event ready to start in just a minute.

Jim Acosta at a Gingrich campaign stop. This is in Lakeland, Florida.

And Jim, great to see you there. This is getting hotter and hotter.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

MALVEAUX: Gingrich says he's going to stay in this race until the Republican Convention. Do we think that's possible? Does he have the momentum to challenge Romney?

ACOSTA: Suzanne, funny you asked that question.

I just had a chance to talk with him as he got off his bus a few moments ago, and he said of course he still sees a path to the nomination, and that's why he's going to keep on fighting. He points to the latest national polls, which, if you look at the way Republicans are looking at this field from a national perspective, not here in Florida, where he's apparently going to lose to Mitt Romney, those national polls show Newt Gingrich out in the lead. So, Newt Gingrich is saying, basically, look, I'm leading in these national polls. Why would I get out right now?

I also had a chance to ask him, "What about the negative tone of this campaign down here?" There are some new estimate that have just come out that 92 percent of the advertising down here in Florida has been negative. I asked him to talk about that. He basically accused Mitt Romney of running a dishonest campaign.

So, the rhetoric is not letting up at all, and as you said, it is getting hot down here, Suzanne, and it has nothing to do with the sunshine, although it is awfully nice. It's a nice day to cover the candidates.

MALVEAUX: Oh, yes, Florida is great.

You know, you got an up-close, personal look at Gingrich this morning. How's his mood? How's his persona? How's he doing?

ACOSTA: Well, I have to say, he's not as jocular as we've seen perhaps in the days after South Carolina, but he is in an upbeat mood. He's saying that he's going to fight on. And he has every reason to.

I mean, if you look at the delegate total here in Florida, 50 winner- take-all delegates are going to be awarded most likely to Mitt Romney tonight. But if you go on beyond the Florida primary and go to some of these other states that follow, keep in mind Florida was penalized for moving up its primary date. So the Georgia primary, for example, now carries more delegates than the Florida primary. Mississippi and Alabama combined carry more delegates than the Florida primary. So the Gingrich campaign is looking at that map and saying, hey, there's a reason to stay in this reason.

And Suzanne, as you know, because we covered the Obama/Clinton campaign, it's all about delegates. And a lot of this may sound like deja vu to listen to these campaigns talk about, well, we may get delegates down the road over in this state, and if we couple that with this state over here, we might be able to pull together the total that we need. And so that is sort of the phase that we're heading into right now, putting together the map that gets you to the nomination -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes. It does kind of feel a little bit like deja vu, but there are some things that are really kind of interesting and unique about this.

I know that Gingrich, he does pretty well in these debates. Is he worried that he's got another three weeks or so before he goes to another debate, and that he's not really going to have a chance to drum up the support that way?

ACOSTA: I would think that has to be a worry inside the Gingrich campaign. I have not asked him that specifically, but the fact that there is only one debate that we know of on the schedule between now and the Arizona primary, that's not good news for Newt Gingrich.

Having said all of that, you know, he does have -- if you look inside the poll numbers, this NBC/Marist poll that came out the other day that shows conservative voters are still lining up behind Newt Gingrich, they're not quite sold on Mitt Romney. So, Gingrich has every reason to stay in this race if conservatives are not sold on Mitt Romney.

Michael Reagan, the son of the former president, is with Newt Gingrich. I just had a chance to talk to him a few moments ago, and he's a Gingrich surrogate, so obviously he's going to say this, but he's making the case that Romney has not closed the deal with Tea Partiers and conservatives, and until he does that, there's really no motivating factor for Newt Gingrich to get out of this race. MALVEAUX: All right. It remains hot there in Florida. The race is on.

Thank you, Jim. Appreciate it.

ACOSTA: That's right.

(NEWSBREAK)

MALVEAUX: Want to go back to Syria now.

Today, the U.N. Security Council is going to consider whether to call on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Protesters, they are not waiting for the world.

CNN's Arwa Damon gives us a rare look inside and how these activists operate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are posters and other material hiding in a safe house, along with tiny printed leaflets ready to be scattered. Demonstrators move in groups of two or three to avoid attracting attention.

At the signal, the street erupts into activity. Everyone has a duty. The leafleting rain down line confetti.

Every night the protesters do this. Their numbers are small, their determination is not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, what happened? Arwa Damon had to get out of Syria for her own safety. She is joining us from neighboring Lebanon.

And Arwa, first of all, we are happy that you are safe. Clearly, you and these other organizers, you put your lives on the line here.

Here dangerous is it there on the ground?

DAMON: Well, when you're an activist who's going out there every day, it is fairly dangerous. That particular clip you showed there, that demonstration, ended around 10 minutes after it began, because these pre-positioned spotters that the demonstrators have set up sent word back that security forces were closing in. But we continue to see this type of determination on a fairly regular basis, because the street activists are very aware of the fact that they are effectively the driving engine of the Syrian uprising.

Of course, right now the focus is not on them, it is at the United Nations. Many people waiting to see if the international diplomacy by Western nations, by Arab nations to try to put pressure on Russia not to veto whatever U.N. resolution is put forward is actually going to materialize. Because while that might not immediately impact things on the ground, it most certainly would send a signal to the regime that perhaps Russia is not as unshakable of an ally as the Syrian regime believes it to be -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Arwa, clearly, these activists are not waiting to find out what is going to take place at the U.N. Security Council. What is happening there? Do they field emboldened? Do they feel empowered?

DAMON: Well, they have, by and large, been feeling as if there isn't going to be any help on the way when it comes to the U.N., or to the Arab League, for that matter. They have felt emboldened ever since they first took to the streets.

We keep talking about how barriers of fear have been broken. We keep talking about how more the killings occur, the greater the activists' determination.

What we have also been seeing is larger parts of the country no longer under full government control. We've been seeing the flash point city of Homs, where fairly significant clashes have been taking place.

We were there just last week on a government tour. And one would estimate that around 70 percent of the city itself is not in full government control. In fact, there was only one neighborhood where they felt safe enough to take us.

We've been seeing the fighting inching closer to the heart of Damascus. Those areas of the suburbs where some of these clashes are taking place, they're just a 15-minute drive from the center of the capital -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Arwa Damon, be safe, and thanks for your reporting, as always.

An Arizona woman decides to do her civic duty and run for city council, but her English proficiency becomes a big issue, and she says it shouldn't be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRINA CABRERA, CITY COUNCIL HOPEFUL: I do speak English a little maybe, but it's enough for the City Council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Now to Arizona, where a woman who wants to run for city council can't. She's actually been disqualified. She says it's political, but others say it's because she doesn't speak English well enough.

Here's our Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this small border town of San Luis, Arizona --

CABRERA: Como esta?

GUTIERREZ: -- Alejandrina Cabrera is somewhat of a political celebrity, without having spent one day in office.

CABRERA: They are my friends.

GUTIERREZ: The married mother of two made national headlines after her bid for a seat on the San Luis City Council was blocked by the city's mayor.

CABRERA: He says I can't speak English, read and write.

GUTIERREZ: At issue, Cabrera's fluency in English. She's a United States citizen. She was born in Arizona. But like many people in this small agricultural town who live and work on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, Cabrera was raised in Mexico, where life is more affordable.

When she was 17, she came back to the U.S. to finish high school, but by then, Spanish was her primary language. Cabrera says no one in San Luis, where most people speak Spanish, had ever questioned her English skills until she decided to run for public office.

MAYOR JUAN CARLOS ESCAMILLA, SAN LUIS, ARIZONA: She does not understand English.

GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, says under Arizona law, elected officials must be proficient in English. He says Cabrera doesn't qualify to run for office. And as a citizen, he filed a lawsuit against her, and she was forced to take an English proficiency test paid for by local taxpayers to stop her candidacy. Cabrera says this is political payback because she spearheaded two recall campaigns against the mayor.

(on camera): Not a personal vendetta against her?

ESCAMILLA: Not a personal vendetta to get her, absolutely not.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): After a lengthy court hearing, Cabrera was disqualified from the race. Her attorney, John Minore, says her civil rights have been violated.

(on camera): She did not pass her proficiency test.

JOHN MINORE, CABRERA'S ATTORNEY: Well, what test is there to pass, though? There is no test in the statute, and they're denying her the political process. And let the people of this community decide if they want her on the City Council or not.

GUTIERREZ: What do you tell those people who say, but you're a citizen, you live here now, and you're running for office, you need to speak English?

CABRERA: I do speak English a little, maybe. But it's enough for the City Council.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Cabrera says she's taking her appeal all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, San Luis, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: It's Primary Day in Florida. Results could be a game- changer in the race for the White House. I'm going to ask Democratic and Republican strategists, two of my favorites right there -- you see them -- where the candidates stand now as the clock is ticking down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. It's a big state, 50 delegates on the line. Now, with just hours to go before the polls are going to close in Florida, everybody is talking about the resurgence of Mitt Romney.

Crystal Wright, editor of ConservativeBlackChick.com, and Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, they're joining us.

Both of you, good to see you. My favorites.

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: Good to see you.

MALVEAUX: Let's start a little bit -- talk about Florida.

Jamal, I want to start with you.

So, the numbers now show Romney leading Gingrich, potentially in the double digits. So, you and other Obama supporters, who do you want to see grab those 50 delegates today?

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, at this point, all of these Republicans have dug themselves into such a hole, that I think the platform they run on is going to be hard to win in a general election. Obviously, I think the longer this goes on, the better it is for the president and the Democrats getting Newt Gingrich in there, but I don't think Gingrich is going to be able to pull it out today in Florida. It looks pretty tough for him.

But that doesn't mean that he can't keep going when this is over. We've got a long way to go between now and the convention in Tampa.

And Crystal, Gingrich is your guy. You're a delegate for Gingrich. We recently saw he got some backing from some pretty good folks there, including Herman Cain, Sarah Palin.

Is that going to be enough to make a difference here, to get that grassroots coalition of conservatives out to support him tonight?

WRIGHT: I mean, you know, it's never over in politics until the fat lady sings, so it's not going to be over until the last vote is counted in Florida. But we do have to concede that Romney has ran a great negative campaign. The take away is about Florida. And the reason we're seeing Romney surge ahead and it looks like he'll probably pull this off is money matters in Florida. You know, Romney has outspent Newt $15 million to $3 million, I think. But I think the key is, what would Romney be without the soldiers of the establishment bashing Newt. I think it's sleazy that Romney is having his congressional surrogates crash Newt events to bad mouth the candidates.

At the end of the day, even if Romney wins Florida, there's a lot of delegates I play, 1144. And the real question is, why can't Romney stand on his own two feet as a conservative candidate? It seems every other way we have George Will or somebody within this Republican establishment propping up the candidate, and I think that can be problematic for Romney.

MALVEAUX: Jamal, I want you to jump in here because, looking beyond Florida here --

(CROSSTALK)

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, she can keep attacking Mitt Romney. It's fine.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: No, no, we'll get --

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: I think we can attack Obama's record pretty well, too, because it's awful.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: We'll get to that too. We've seen all of that accounts for less than 3 percent, right? Of these possible delegates, whoever wins today. We are a long ways away from the 1,144 delegates needed to get a winner.

So, Jamal, is this still anyone's game, do you think?

SIMMONS: The reality is there's -- Mitt Romney has a lot of money, a lot of organization. It's all across the country. If he wins today that will be a boost. The question is, how much money can he raise to be competitive.

But there's a third factor. That's Ron Paul. While everybody else has been in Florida, Ron Paul has been out in these caucus states bringing people together, getting himself organized. And I think in those states, he may still pill out some of these proportional delegate victories. He'll have some delegates with him to take Tampa. That may cause a bit of a start. Not sure what it means yet. We'll all see. But right now, it looks like the primary is far from over.

MALVEAUX: Crystal, what would that mean for Gingrich if Ron Paul decides he's going to cause a bit of a stir?

WRIGHT: I think Ron Paul will probably be in this until the bitter end, unfortunately. But at the end of the day, Newt Gingrich in the national polls is still pulling ahead of Romney. And conservative voters, they prefer Newt over Romney at the end of the day.

So I think -- we know in Michigan right now it's a dead heat between Gingrich and Romney. This isn't over. You know, Obama and his Democrat friends would like to believe that Newt can't pull it off. That's their biggest fear, frankly, if Newt got the nomination.

(LAUGHTER)

So it's not over. And I think when you're the president of the United States, and you're running on an awful record of the highest unemployment, you know, historic unemployment, black unemployment is at 16 percent, the highest since 1984, you really don't have a record to run on.

MALVEAUX: Jamal, jump in, because clearly Crystal wants to talk about Obama.

WRIGHT: Right.

SIMMONS: That's fine. She can have at it. If Newt Gingrich is the nominee, we'll be happy to talk about his ideas, from space stations on the moon to whatever else it is out there.

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: -- because he's not doing well in America, Jamal.

SIMMONS: I think the president is doing just fine. The president --

WRIGHT: Oh, really? OK.

(CROSSTALK)

SIMMONS: -- the jobs number. I think 200,000 jobs a month is better than --

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: Whoa, whoa. Where are all those jobs? I'm not seeing it.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: I'm going to let you guys go. Next time you're back, we'll talk Obama.

WRIGHT: Good.

MALVEAUX: We'll have a different kind of discussion.

WRIGHT: OK, that works.

SIMMONS: Have a good day.

MALVEAUX: All right, Crystal, Jamal, thanks. Good to see you.

CNN tonight all eyes on the primary, kicking off at 6:00 p.m. eastern with a special edition of "John King, USA" followed by complete live coverage of primary results at 7:00 with Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King and more.

You'll want to see what's flying around in space today. It looks kind of like a potato, but it's actually a huge asteroid. It has never been this close to earth as it is today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. In Tennessee, a restaurant owner takes a stand against what she sees as bigotry. She is furious about comments a state Senator made on the radio. Now he's trying to explain himself. The back story is, owner, Martha Boggs kicked Republican Senator Stacey Campfield out of her restaurant in Knoxville over the weekend. She says recent comments he made about AIDS pushed her over the edge. And she says his beliefs are downright dangerous. Here's what she's talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE SEN. STACEY CAMPFIELD, (R), TENNESSEE: My understanding is also virtually, not completely impossible, it's virtually impossible to contract aids outside of blood transfusions through heterosexual sex. It's virtually impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The restaurant owner said she had to take a stand in the gay community and that's why she refused to serve him. She's had a lot of support for what she did. Tons of comments on the Facebook page.

Well, now the Senator is trying to explain himself. Here's what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPFIELD: First off, the guy asked me a bunch of questions, and I'll be the first to admit I'm not a gay AIDS historian or anything like that. I was going to talk about my bill and he started to asking, do know the history of AIDS and stuff like that. So told him what I thought I knew. I did not make any claims that I'm an authority on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: In a blog posting titled More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys, Campfield said that the incident shows that some people still support segregation. He says that is segregation of thought.

It's the DREAM Act, a controversial measure. It allows those to become citizens, immigrants came to the United States as children. A candidate's support for or against it could make a big difference for some voters heading to the polls in Florida. Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have taken a tough stand on the issue, which directly affects thousands of folks in that state.

Our Brooke Baldwin is live in Tampa with one family's story about how this impacted them.

Hey, Brooke, good to see you.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne. Nice to see you. Hello from beautiful Tampa, Florida here this day of this huge primary.

Let me get straight to the DREAM Act. We talked to Latinos. It is sort of a litmus test as to who they want to vote for. A quick history really, there have been difficult iterations that have been introduced in Congress, but here's what you need to know.

When think of the different versions introduced and an idea that certainly President Obama has supported, if you're a young person you're brought into this country, not of your own volition, when you're itty-bitty, you're parents come up from Mexico, Costa Rico, what have you, multiple provisions you have to meet, including good moral character and perhaps going through a four-year college, maybe serving two years. But when you hear from these Republican candidates, specifically Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, they say, OK, we support the DREAM Act, but only if you're a young person and you serve four years in the military.

So yesterday here in Florida, I spent my evening with a 20-year- old Florida student who was here illegally, and I posed that idea to her. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They want you to serve the country for four years in a military position. Do you think that's fair?

UNIDENTIFIED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: Honestly, no. I feel like there are other ways to serve this country. Just being a doctor, being an attorney, those are just as important ways to serve our country just like the military. I feel like students should have the option of going to college. We should have that pathway, especially when some of us already do have four-year degrees and are already graduating. You know, we're ready to jump into the workforce. Why would you waste that investment? As a child of immigrants, as an immigrant myself, I feel like my role has always been to go to school, work really hard and have a career. That's what I want to do, but it's so difficult when you don't have a legal status to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Obviously, Suzanne, this issue is very emotional for Myra. Briefly, her history is she was 6-month-old. She's originally from Costa Rica. She considers the United States home. Her two siblings were brought up here by her parents. They originally came here legally on a tourist visa. And her three siblings are now here legally because of marriage or being born here. She is the only one who is here illegally. She hopes to stay. And she wants to become an immigration attorney -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Brooke Baldwin. Thank you, Brooke. Excellent reporting, as always.

Space watchers, it is hurling toward us right now. OK, kind of looks like a giant potato. It's not. It's an asteroid. Never been this close to earth as it is today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Let's head to the Florida primaries. Mitt Romney is at an event in Tampa, Florida. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ROMNEY: Hopefully, that will serve me well here. I would like to spend more of our time focusing on President Obama. That's ultimately what's essentially to taking back the White House, but I'm not going to stand back and allow another candidate to define me as comments most recently attacking me have been quite sad and painfully revealing about the speaker and what he's willing to say and do to try to take the nomination. So I just can't stand back and let him say those things without responding.

How important is Florida? Today is the most important thing in the world to me, all right? I obviously want to do really well here in Florida and get the support of people in Florida and take that to the next state and then to the next state. Florida has the biggest cache of delegates of any of the states so far, and of course it's a being states.

In some respects Florida is a microcosm. Because people retire here, it has a large Hispanic community as well, so doing well in Florida is a good indication. For me, Florida is big, but New Hampshire is big, too, and I'm hoping as I go to Nevada and Minnesota, and Missouri, Colorado, and Arizona. The list goes on and on that I will get a lot of support, in part because of the response here of people in Florida.

I would love to understand how it is that speaker Gingrich characterizes himself. I balance the budget all four years I was in office and did so not by growing government fast and hoping that the internet bubble would provide funds.

In fact we cut spending and we grew spending at less than the rate of inflation when I was governor. The agencies that reported to me, we reduced employment at those agencies. I have a record of making sure that English immersion was brought into our schools. I have a conservative record, and that record is one I'm willing to stand by.

Even with regard to social issues, I was at a state where being a social conservative was not easy. A bill came to my desk calling for cloning of embryos, and I said absolutely not. There was a bill at my desk providing greater access to the morning-after bill. I vetoed that bill. I have a solid record. So, you know, I'm happy to debate that, but when people say thing about my report that aren't accurate, that will create an impression that I have to work hard to correct.

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney there in Florida looking rather casual taking on his main own Newt Gingrich, who is the true conservative.

We're following another story here. This is an asteroid that is zooming around the earth. It is coming closer than ever. It is still about 16 million miles away. So it's not all that close.

Chad, talk a bit about, why does it look like that? It looks like a big potato?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Because we have sent a satellite there before. A spaceship went out there and took those pictures back in the year 2000, so it does look like a potato. These are the best pictures we've ever had. If you have a telescope, you can see it up to about February 10. Eros, the Greek God of love, coming by around the time of Valentine's Day. How cool is that.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: There's your baked potato. A golden russet flying around with that point on there.

(LAUGHTER)

It is still very far away. There will be no issue with this at all. But it's bright, because it's called the Albedo. It's really, really bright.

MALVEAUX: And how long will this last?

MYERS: About two weeks.

MALVEAUX: I'll have to check it out. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You bet.

MALVEAUX: Florida has one of the highest foreclosures rates in the country. I want you to meet the Freemans, an accountant and preschool teacher, who are fighting to keep their home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: More than 900,000 Floridians are out of work, and the reason why the economy is issue number-one for today's primary. Florida has the highest rate of long-term employment in the entire country. 53 percent of Floridians, who don't have a job, have been out of work for more than six months.

Joining me now is one of those folks who's out of work, and his wife, Marcus Freeman.

You're an accountant. You were laid out of last year. Kate, you're a preschool teacher. You have two sons. Your home is now in foreclosure.

Thank you for joining us.

I mean, clearly, this is a difficult time for both of you. How did this happen?

KATE FREEMAN, HOUSE IN FORECLOSURE: Well, Marcus, do you want to --

MARCUS FREEMAN, HOUSE IN FORECLOSURE: Well, I was at work, I was a staff accountant, and we had, I had got in an auto accident, and as time had gone on, it actually got to where I was immobile for a little while. And through that, I lost my job. Well, about that same time, we had just bought our home. And so as we started falling of and falling behind on payments, we were looking for help and tried to do some modifications to get it straightened out and we just couldn't get anywhere. Everything was going the wrong way, so ever since then, we have been struggling, trying to make ends meet and trying to save our house, any way we can.

MALVEAUX: And you guys have done something that is really pretty extraordinary. But, you know, like a lot of folks, just trying to make ends meet, you're now selling chili, is that right, on the streets to try to bring in some extra cash and save your home.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yes.

KATE FREEMAN: That's correct. We're -- Marcus is in a business class now, and part of his class he needed to do a business plan, and we thought, well, what a great opportunity to try to market his chili.

MALVEAUX: How's it going?

KATE FREEMAN: It's going really well. We've been doing for about three weeks. You know, it's kind of scraping by to get the stuff that we need to make it and, you know, we make some money, and then we're able to kind of make it through for the week. But, you know, we had some repeat customers, and that was pretty exciting. So hopefully, you know, hopefully it will be able to take off a little bit.

MALVEAUX: Now, both of you, I understand, will be voting today in the primary.

Marcus, I know you're a conservative, you're undecided so far. What are you looking for for these candidates to say or do to lend your support to them in light of your -- what's happening with your family?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think I would like to see them offer some kind of help. You know, I don't understand, if there's so many people who are losing their homes and not able to stay and work and stuff, I don't understand what is actually being done. I just -- it seems like all I'm hearing about and how, you know, somebody's doing something wrong as opposed to what needs to be done to help people out. People in our situation, we just want a chance. That's all we're looking for. We just want a fair chance to be able to keep our home and move on. And we just want to hear how they're going to do that.

MALVEAUX: Have you heard from anybody who said, OK, I'm going to support today?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Not quite yet. Getting closer.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: You're still undecided, huh? OK. Well, keep listening. We're listening as well. And how do we get that delicious chili? I know you guys are trying and you're struggling there and you're selling it. And I understand it's pretty good.

MARCUS FREEMAN: It's very good. Actually, that's my favorite part, when people taste it. I love their facial expressions. But we are on the corner of Banana Road and U.S. 98 North. And we are going to be getting a Web site going that we can start shipping it out, too, pretty soon. It should be within the next couple of weeks.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, I wish you the best of luck, with your chili sales as well. I hope it all comes together. You're able to save your house and make a decision. Make a decision on who you're going to vote for so they can help you out a little bit.

Thank you very much, Marcus and Kate.

KATE FREEMAN: Thank you.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on the "Talk Back" question. What is it going to take for Americans to lose weight?

Carol Costello is joining us from Washington with more on this.

And you know, I mean, Carol, we all struggle, right? I'm not hating. You can't blame people. It's a tough thing.

COSTELLO: It's hard work. And he's speaking of chili, that's a really healthy thing to eat, if you put turkey instead of beef.

MALVEAUX: In moderation.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Made with a tomato-based product and tomatoes are great for you. So chili is good.

MALVEAUX: That's a pretty good endorsement for their chili, I think.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I know, they were so cute, though.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: They're trying, they're trying. Got to do something these days.

COSTELLO: I liked them, Marcus and Kate.

Going back to our "Talk Back" question, though, what will make Americans lose weight.

This from Steven, "Scaring people is not the answer. It doesn't work. They've tried that with smokers for years. Not happening. Until we become a health food nation and not a fast-food nation, Americans are going to stay fat."

This from Adam, "Americans need to walk more. Only in America will you find someone driving what is only a five-minute walk down the street to the grocery store."

This from Moises, "The only way to ignore weight is to ignore the false weight loss scams and do it the simplest way you can, just keep your mouth shut. Self-control is saying no, as they say."

This from Ken, "Tax on unhealthy food like cigarettes would double the price and that would do it."

This from Scott, "I'm 100 pounds overweight. First of the year, my wife said she was concerned for my health. Since then, I have lost 17 pounds to date. Only took the love of my life to wake me up."

Oftentimes, that is all it takes, just support from someone who cares.

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll be back in about 20 minutes.

MALVEAUX: We support you, Carol. We support everybody. Moderation. Moderation on the chili.

(LAUGHTER)

We'll have more after break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Time to check in on Wall Street, what's got the stocks sliding.

Felicia Taylor, she's joining us from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hey, Felicia. What's the latest?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne.

Well, we did have a higher open this morning, but that did an about- face after we got some downbeat economic reports. Consumer confidence, which was a surprise, fell in January, coming in way below expectations.

We also had a regional manufacturing gauge that came in weaker than forecast. Earnings also cutting into gains.

We saw ExxonMobil posting a $9.4 billion fourth quarter profit, but analysts wanted even more. Exxon evidently isn't producing enough natural gas and crude oil to please analysts, and its profit margins have been hurt by the slow economic recovery. Exxon shares right now are down right now about 2.05 percent.

Investors still keeping a close eye on Europe as well. European Union leaders did agree to set up a permanent rescue fund and a new fiscal PAC that's designed to keep governments from racking up unsustainable debts like Greece did, but there's still no deal to settle Greece's debt issue with its creditors, and that continues to hang over the marketplace -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Felicia, thank you.