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Will Mitt Romney Hold Momentum?; Romney Wins Florida President Obama Talks Economy, Housing; "Soul Train's" Don Cornelius Dies; Nevada Caucus is 3 Days Away; Romney, Gingrich Back and Forth with Negative Ads; Gladys Knight Interview

Aired February 01, 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.

Want to get you up to speed for this Wednesday, February 1st.

It is probably the biggest expense in your monthly budget, your mortgage payment. Today, the president outlines his plan to help you get a lower borrowing rate. The White House says it could save the average homeowner $3,000 a year.

We're going to bring it to you live, his remarks. And we're also going to break down those numbers.

Mitt Romney, he's got the momentum and he is on the move today after his decisive win in the Florida primary. Romney campaigns in Minnesota before heading west to Las Vegas.

Ron Paul is on the campaign trail in Vegas as well. He has a stop there in the next hour.

Also next hour, Rick Santorum campaigning in Colorado. And later, Newt Gingrich holding a rally in Reno, Nevada.

Mitt Romney's win in Florida followed a bitter, brutal campaign already, but it paid off big time for Romney. He won 46 percent of the vote, compared to 32 percent for Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum got 13 percent. Ron Paul finished last with 9 percent.

On CNN's "STARTING POINT," Romney said it didn't bother him that Gingrich didn't call to congratulate him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As has been said long ago, politics ain't beanbags. We're battling to become the nominee. He's going to do it the way he thinks is best, I will do it the way I think is best. So far, my process has given me a good start. I know we're going to go on, but I'm feeling pretty good at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Newt Gingrich leaves Florida defeated, but defiant. He didn't mention Romney by name during his speech to supporters late night. Gingrich says he's going to stay in the race all the way to the Republican Convention in August. He gave his take on what the results in Florida meant for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: And the voters of Florida really made that clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Sad news to report out of California today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON CORNELIUS, CREATOR, "SOUL TRAIN": I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Music icon Don Cornelius, the creator and former host of the Soul Train Music Awards and show, has died. Police tell CNN that Cornelius died of a gunshot wound at his home in Los Angeles.

Cornelius created a pilot for "Soul Train" using $400 of his own money. It went on the air in 1970, and the show featured top R&B and soul artists performing before a studio audience, showed off its dance moves in the "Soul Train" line. Cornelius was 75.

And in just a few moments, we're going to talk live to Grammy Award- winning singer Gladys Knight about the life and legacy of Don Cornelius.

Well, the search on the capsized Italian cruise ship is now over. Officials say conditions are just too dangerous. Seventeen bodies have now been recovered.

Americans Gerald and Barbara Heil are among 15 people who have not been found. Family members are now planning a memorial service to celebrate their lives.

Florida A&M University has cancelled its summer band camp program while police investigate the suspected hazing death of Robert Champion. The drum major died, you may recall, in November, but no one has been charged yet.

Now, the school's president has also suspended the band's clubs. Four students of the school's Marching 100 Band were arrested in other alleged hazing incidents earlier in the month.

Well, you might soon be able to actually own a chunk of Facebook. The biz world is bracing for the biggest ever Internet IPO, or initial public offering.

So, that is when a company starts selling stock on the open market. Facebook is pretty hush-hush about it, but according to several sources, today is the day that the company files the paperwork for its IPO. It will be several months before Facebook starts trading.

Next up is Nevada. After a bruising fight in Florida, the battle for the Republican presidential nomination is now shifting to Nevada. The state's caucuses, they are this Saturday. Mitt Romney is the front- runner.

With just three days to go, Joe Johns, he is in Vegas with a preview of what is ahead.

So, already looking to the next contest here. And Joe, it seems as if Romney clearly has the momentum going into Nevada. Is it something that is going to be able to stick?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, looking at the exit polls from last night, it really tells you a lot about what is going on for Romney and what's not going on for Newt Gingrich, the two top guys in the race.

The interesting thing about Romney, number one, is electability. So many people who were going to the polls said the number one thing they were concerned about is somebody they thought might be able to beat President Barack Obama. That would be Mitt Romney. That's at least what they said at the polls.

The problems for Gingrich are very interesting, too. We have all known about the gender gap, the women who aren't so sure about him as a presidential candidate. Well, that started to surface in the exit polls. Also, obviously, the question of electability.

He has a problem now with Tea Partiers. Everybody thought Tea Partiers were going to be so much on board with Newt Gingrich, but now a lot of those Tea Partiers seem to be moving over to the Romney side.

So, trends seem to suggest that Romney is actually earning that front- runner status that he regained it in the election in Florida last night. Interesting, though, here in Nevada, obvious a caucus state, very different from what was going on in Florida and South Carolina as well.

MALVEAUX: OK. All right. Joe, we're going to have to let you go there.

The president has started to speak about his housing program, and we want to dip into that event with the president.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I do want to talk about some of the issues that I discussed last week, because the blueprint we put forward was one that focuses on restoring what have always been this country's greatest strengths -- American manufacturing, American energy, skills and education for American workers so that we can compete with anybody around the world in this 21st century economy. And most importantly, the American values of fairness and responsibility -- fairness and responsibility.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we know what happens, because we have just seen it, what happened when we stray from those values. We saw what happened over the past decade when we strayed from those values, especially when it comes to the massive housing bubble that burst and hurt so many people.

Millions of families who did the right and the responsible thing, folks who shopped for a home that they could afford, secured a mortgage, made their payments each month, they were hurt badly by the irresponsible actions of other people who weren't playing by the same rules, weren't taking the same care, weren't acting as responsibly, by lenders who sold loans to people who they knew couldn't afford the mortgages, and buyers who bought homes they knew they couldn't afford, and banks that packaged those mortgages up and traded them to reap phantom profits, knowing that they were building a house of cards. It was wrong. It was wrong.

It triggered the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. And it has been the single biggest drag on our recovery from a terrible recession.

Crushing debt has kept millions of consumers from spending. A lack of building demand has kept hundreds of thousands of construction workers idle. Everybody involved in the home building business, folks who make windows, folks who make carpets, they have all been impacted.

The challenge is massive in size and in scope because we have got a multi-trillion-dollar housing industry. And economists can tell you how it has affected all sorts of statistics from GDP to consumer confidence. But what is at stake is more than just statistics, it's personal.

Now, I have been saying that this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and this housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America -- our homes, the place where we invest our nest egg, the place where we raise our family, the place where we plant roots in a community, the place where we build memories. It's personal. It affects so much of how people feel about their lives, about their communities, about the country, about the economy.

We need to do everything in our power to repair the damage and make responsible families whole again. Everything we can.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, the truth is, it's going to take more time than any of us would like for the housing market to fully recover from this crisis. This is a big bubble, and when it burst it had a big effect. Home prices started a pretty steady decline about five years ago, and government certainly can't fix the entire problem on its own. But it is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom.

(APPLAUSE)

I refuse to accept that and so do the American people.

There are more than 10 million homeowners across the country right now who, because of an unprecedented decline in home prices that is no fault of their own, owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. It means your mortgage, your house is under water.

Here in Falls Church, home values have fallen by about a quarter from their peak. In places like Las Vegas, more than half of all homeowners are under water. More than half.

So it's going to take a while for those prices to rise again, but there are actions we can take right now the provide some relief to folks who have been responsible, have done the right thing, and are making their payments on time, already thanks to the outstanding work in part of my secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, who is here today.

(APPLAUSE)

And there he is, the good looking guy here in the front.

The housing plan we launched a couple of years ago has helped nearly one million responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages, and they are saving an average of $300 on their payments each month. Three hundred dollars, which is great.

(APPLAUSE)

But I'll be honest, the programs that we have put forward haven't worked at the scale that we hoped. Not as many people have taken advantage of it as we wanted.

Mortgage rates are as low as they have been in a half a century, and when that happens usually people flock to refinance their mortgages. So a lot of people take advantage of it and save a lot of money, but this time, too many families haven't been able to take advantage of the low rates, because falling prices locked them out of the market. They were under water, it made it more difficult for them to refinance.

Then you've got all the fees involved in refinancing. And a lot of people just said, you know what? Even though I'd like to be obviously cutting down my monthly payment, the banks just aren't being real encouraging.

So, last year we took aggressive action that allowed more families to participate. And today, we're doing even more. It is the main reason I'm here today.

(APPLAUSE)

As I indicated in the State of the Union last week, I am sending Congress a plan that will give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low rates.

(APPLAUSE)

No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. And a small fee on the largest financial institutions will make sure it doesn't add to our deficit.

And I want to be clear. This plan, like the other actions we have taken, will not help the neighbors down the street who bought a house they couldn't afford and then walked away and left a foreclosed home behind. It's not designed for those who have acted irresponsibly, but it can help those who have acted responsibly. It's not going to help those who bought multiple homes just to speculate and flip the house and make a quick buck, but it can help those who have acted responsibly.

What this plan will do is help millions of responsible homeowners who make their payments on time, but find themselves trapped under falling home values or wrapped up in red tape. If you are ineligible for refinancing just because you are under water on your mortgage, through no fault of your own, this plan changes that.

You will be able to refinance at a lower rate. You will be able to save hundreds of dollars a month that you can put back in your pocket. Or you can choose those savings to rebuild equity in your homes, which will help most underwater homeowners come back up for air more quickly.

Now, to move this part of my plan, we are going to need Congress to act. We are going to need Congress to act. I hear some murmuring in the audience here. We need them to act, but we are not just going to wait for Congress.

We are going to keep building a firewall to prevent the same kinds of abuses that led this crisis -- led to this crisis in the first place. So there are things we can do administratively that are also going to help responsible homeowners.

(APPLAUSE)

Already, we have set up a special taskforce I asked my attorney general to establish to investigate the kind of activity banks took when they packaged and sold risky mortgages. And that taskforce is ramping up its work as we speak.

(APPLAUSE)

We're going to keep at it and hold people who broke the law accountable and help restore confidence in the market. We're going to speed assistance to homeowners, and we're going to turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many hardworking Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

Today, I am also proposing a Homeowners Bill of Rights, one straightforward set of commonsense rules of the road that every family knows they can count on when they are shopping for a mortgage. No more hidden fees or conflicts of interest. No more getting the runaround when you call about your loan. No more fine print that you use to get families to take a deal that is not as good as the one they should have gotten.

New safeguards against inappropriate foreclosures. New options to avoid foreclosures if you've fallen on hardship or a run of bad luck. And --

(APPLAUSE)

And a new, simple, clear form for new buyers of a home.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, think about it. This is the most important purchase a family makes. But how many of you have had to deal with overly-complicated mortgage forms and hidden clauses and complex terms?

I remember when Michelle and I bought our first condo, and we were both lawyers. And we're looking through the forms and kind of holding it up, reading it again. What does this phrase mean? And that's, you know, for two trained lawyers.

The forms, the confusion, the potential for abuse is too great. Just because the forms were too complicated.

So this is what a mortgage form should look like. This is it.

(APPLAUSE)

Now that our new consumer watchdog agency is finally running at full steam --

(APPLAUSE)

-- now that Richard Cordray is in as the director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau --

(APPLAUSE)

-- they are moving forward on important protections like this new shorter mortgage form. Simple, not complicated. Informative, not confusing. Terms are clear, fees are transparent.

This, by the way, is what some of the folks in Congress are trying to roll back and prevent from happening. I guess they like complicated things that confuse consumers and allow them to be cheated. I prefer actions that are taken to make things simpler and easier to understand for consumers so that they can get the best deal possible, especially on the biggest single investment that most people will ever make.

(APPLAUSE)

Americans making a down payment on their dreams shouldn't be terrified by pages and pages of fine print. They should be confident they are making the right decision for their future.

There's more that we are announcing today. We are working to turn more foreclosed homes into rental housing, because, as we know, and a lot of families know, that empty house or "For Sale" sign down the block can bring down the price of homes across the neighborhood.

We're working to make sure people don't lose their homes just because they lose their jobs. These are steps that can make a concrete difference in people's lives right now.

(APPLAUSE)

As I said earlier, no program or policy will solve all of the problems in a multi-trillion-dollar housing market. The heights of the housing bubble reached before it burst, those were unsustainable, and it's going to take time to fully recover. That requires everybody to do their part.

As much as our economic challenges were borne of eroding home values and portfolio values, they were also borne of an erosion of some old- fashioned American values. An economy that is built to last, that's on a firm foundation so that middle class families have a sense of security and those who want to get in the middle class can make it if they are working hard, that demands responsibility from everyone.

Government must take responsibility for rules that are fair and fairly enforced.

(APPLAUSE)

Banks and lenders must be held accountable for ending the practices that helped to cause this crisis in the first place.

(APPLAUSE)

And all of us have to take responsibility for our own actions or lack of action.

(APPLAUSE)

So I urge Congress to act. Pass this plan.

Help more families keep their homes. Help more neighborhoods remain vibrant. Help keep more dreams defended and alive.

And I promise you that I'll keep doing everything that I can to make the future brighter for this community, for this commonwealth, for this country.

Thank you, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END LIVE SPEECH)

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in our own Christine Romans to talk about what the president is proposing here.

Christine, we know that the president's plan is aimed at helping struggling homeowners take advantage of these historically low interest rates. They have tried programs in the past and have been rather disappointed.

Do we think this is really going to benefit folks?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This one is a little bit different. And again, he is challenging Congress to pass this.

This would be something for people who are current on their loans, but they are under water on their loans. So, look, you want to stay in your house, you're paying your bills, you could have a lower mortgage payment if only you could get those record lower mortgage rates, right? But you can't because you owe more on the house than the home is worth.

And no bank wants to play with you. You know, forget it. You don't qualify for refinancing.

The president wants to make that more likely. He says it would save people $3,000 on average a year, be paid for by a fee for the big banks. And also, he says it would help people who even have a credit score of maybe 580 to qualify.

As it is now, Suzanne, to refinance, you have to have a really good credit score, maybe 750. You have to have equity in your home. You have to have a job.

And so there are people who could lower their mortgage bills, but they don't meet all of those qualifications, so they're missing out on these very low mortgage rates. He wants to do a better job of trying to let more people take advantage of that.

MALVEAUX: And Christine, you know, this is a major process when you refinance your home here. My sister is going through all the paperwork of all of that now. So there are pros and cons to this.

I mean, is that really a good idea? Because it's almost like you are buying your home all over again.

ROMANS: I'm sure your sister wouldn't call it a process. She'd call it maybe a different word. It's horrible. It's really horrible, Suzanne.

I mean, there's so much paperwork. It is like buying your home all over again.

But say you've got a mortgage rate at 5.5 percent, 5.25 percent, even, and you could get a mortgage rate in the 3 percent, you are saving so much money. And that's money that goes into the economy.

That either means you are saving for college, it means you could maybe buy a new car. It means that you're just in a more financially flexible position. So it's good for the economy to be able to unlock that and get the housing market a little more robust.

There are cost associated with refinancing, no question. I mean, you have to pay closing costs, and that depends on where you are around the country. But these mortgage rates are so low that I know people who have refinanced twice in the past 18 months, and even with all those up-front costs, it still makes sense for them.

But again, the people who are benefiting from refinancing are not the people the president is talking about. They are people who have been shut out of these low mortgage rates who could help try to revive the housing market. They just haven't been able to.

MALVEAUX: Right. And real quick here, Christine, the housing market, obviously it's central to the economic recovery. How is the housing market doing here?

ROMANS: Well, you know, for the past 18 months, home prices have basically been drifting down. You're seeing a little bit of housing activity. The sales are picking up, but prices aren't.

This is the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Look at that. You're back to lower than mid-2003 levels on prices. What that means is that since the bubble burst, we are now at new lows again for home prices. So that is really disappointing here.

And again, you made a very good point, Suzanne, that there have been several different programs, and they have helped maybe one in four homeowners that the White House had hoped they would. In part, that's the way the programs were designed. They were disappointing. That's a right word that you used.

MALVEAUX: OK.

ROMANS: But also, the housing crash is worse than we thought, and we are having to deal with that.

MALVEAUX: All right. OK. Christine, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

We are remembering next the life of "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius. I'm going to talk to Gladys Knight about his legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Music icon, Don Cornelius, has died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DON CORNELIUS, FORMER HOST, SOUL TRAIN: I'm Don Cornelius and, as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Police tell -- the Los Angeles coroner, that Don Cornelius, the creator and former host of the "Soul Train" awards and show, died of a gunshot wound to the head.

We are covering this. Our Alan Duke is covering the story on the ground in Los Angeles.

But first, I want to go to a friend and music icon and legend herself, and that is Gladys Knight, who joins us on the phone.

Ms. Knight, thank you so much for being here.

You knew Don Cornelius personally and you have been a part of the "Soul Train" family. Tell us what he means to you personally and to the entertainment world.

GLADYS KNIGHT, SINGER (via telephone): Oh, he means so much to me. He really, really did.

He opened up so many avenues for African-American artists. And you know, I grew up listening to everyone. And then for a division as far as music was concerned, they separated us from R&B to pop, to this and that, and we had no face on television. We were still able to get our music through.

And thank God that he and Barry Gordy were working in that area. And our music had become popular. My dream was for us to have that faith, and Don is the one who brought it forth. He took his own money and scoured the sidewalks trying to get people to believe.

He came to us, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and said, hey, look, I'm trying to get this television show done and I need a pilot and somebody with a name. That came about in the '70s and we were blessed to have, at that time, some of the hottest music out there.

And as a group of people, African-Americans, we were fighting with each other, and so we said, of course, we would do it for you, and we did. The show became a smash hit. Dick Clark, who is a very, very good friend of ours, was up with "American Bandstand," and he was taking a giant step to even compete in that arena where Dick Clark had such a hold with the "American Bandstand," but he was brave, and he went out and he did it.

We, as artists, are so grateful to him for giving us that face. He gave people with commercial opportunities to have a way to get our products out. He was a pioneer like you would not believe. And he is really an unsung hero.

MALVEAUX: Ms. Knight --

(CROSSTALK) KNIGHT: He really is. People used to ask me all of the time what soul was. You know?

(LAUGHTER)

You know, like, what is soul? You know. And I'd try to explain to them. Don made that, which is an inner feeling, something that you feel spiritually and deep down and have a passion for things, made that a common word, soul.

(CROSSTALK)

KNIGHT: And I loved about that about him. He brought it to the fore.

MALVEAUX: He did. I grew up watching "Soul Train" with my family and it is a special -- had such special meaning for all of us. We saw you a couple of months ago being honored at the "Soul Train" awards there, and they showed some of the beautiful clips of you and the Pips there. It was a beautiful ceremony. Can you give us a sense of what it was like when you first met him and you were first on "Soul Train," how that -- what your impressions were at that moment?

KNIGHT: It was amazing. One thing, you have to remember that the mettle of the time. I mean, to have a businessman to go say, I'm going to be on television and bring all of the artists on and that kind of thing, with the social environment being as it was, you have to give him his due. I think I mentioned that, too, when I made the acceptance speech for that award that I received from "Soul Train" not too long ago.

I was so honored to know him and to know how hard he fought for us to have a base and a name. And it was during the time when that was just almost unheard of. So, you have to give Don the credit.

And last time I saw him, he was pretty sick, you know. And he had lost a lot of weight, but he still had that thing about him, you know. I said, Don, we keeping on, and he said, keep on, you know.

(LAUGHTER)

So here we are. And to do it at that time was amazing. It reminded me when I was on Ted Mack in the '50s, because we have come through so many things or how Dr. King tried to come through and tell everybody we should love each other, and everybody should have an opportunity. The president is saying that today, everybody should have an opportunity to succeed. So, Don was one of those people who helped to make that happen.

And I'm grateful that I passed this way with him, that I walked that journey with him and watched all of the things that he did and what he had to go through to do it. He was an amazing, amazing man.

MALVEAUX: Ms. Knight, thank you so much.

I know one of the things that was just beautiful always to watch and enjoy on those weekends to see all of the performers and the entertainers. And, of course, we all wanted to get on the "Soul Train" line, too.

KNIGHT: Yes, getting there.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: That was the big thing. Was he as cool and calm and have that kind of cool demeanor as he came across on television?

KNIGHT: Every step of the way. Don was always Don. If you talked to him socially, if he was on "Soul Train," he was that same character, that same person that you saw on that TV. He was just very laid back, very intellectual, and he was one of those people.

And you know what I loved about Don? He always encouraged us to be ourselves. And that's how you got to see us dance the way that we danced, talk the talk that we talked, and sing the way that we sing. He was just a supporter of that, you know, like, be yourself. We are going to the give you the platform and you go out there and do your thing. And you know what? He always let us knows that he was proud of us.

MALVEAUX: Thank you so much Gladys Knight. We appreciate your time and your perspective.

And, again, really to see the pictures of Don Cornelius and back in the day of the "Soul Train" line is so touching for so many of us.

KNIGHT: Yes. It is. It is.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, again, Ms. Knight.

I want to bring in Alan Duke. He's our entertainment editor. He is on the phone from Los Angeles with the latest on this.

Alan, can you explain the circumstances surrounding his death?

ALAN DUKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Well, we have new information. A short time ago, I talked with the chief assistant at the coroner's office. The Los Angeles police who were on the scene told the coroner that they found Don Cornelius suffering a gunshot wound to the head that they believed was self-inflicted.

It was at a home on Mulholland. And the address, we checked, is the same address where we know that he had lived. We don't know if he was living there at the time, but that is the residence, and he was taken to Cedar Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. And today, they will do an autopsy on him to see confirm what the police suspect, and confirm that it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

MALVEAUX: Alan, do we know if he was alone in the home at the time?

DUKE: No, we don't know. We know that someone called 911 and the fire department went to the residence at about 4:0) this morning. We do not know anything more, because this is very, very recent.

MALVEAUX: Alan, one thing that Gladys Knight mentioned is that he was very, very ill recently. Do we know of any health complications or anything surrounding his health involved in this?

DUKE: I don't know anything about his illnesses. I've had other people tell me that he had suffered from illness. I do know he fell on tough times a few years ago, and he arrested on a domestic violence felony count, and later did a plea deal on that and was on probation for three years, that would have expired next month. And that was from an incident that happened at that home on Mulholland. But as his health, I have heard from others that he was in ill health, but we don't know whether that contributed to what happened today.

MALVEAUX: It's a tragic, tragic ending.

Alan, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

It is the most negative campaign ever, according a group who looks at the political ads. And it is just getting started. We will look at the slugfest between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and what it means for the long campaign ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney has momentum, and Gingrich defiant. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are still hanging on. The Nevada caucuses are three days away.

And joining us to talk about the Republican race going forward is Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

So, we are moving from the Florida primary to the Nevada caucuses, and very different situation. Caucuses you need organization and passion from the folks, because they come out to listen to the speeches at a public hearing and then they cast their vote. I don't suppose that a lot of money for commercials makes that much difference in Nevada. What does that actually benefit? Do we know?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, in Nevada, it has to be Romney simply because he has the base there. He won 51 percent of the Nevada vote at a time he was losing elsewhere in 2008. So he's a very heavy favorite in Nevada. There is also a very large Mormon population that will vote in the Republican caucuses.

Now, other states, it is different. You know, there's a poll out from PPP showing that Rick Santorum is leading Mitt Romney in the beauty contest, Missouri primary, which is next Tuesday. There are caucus states where I'm told Ron Paul is making a fair bid to win or to play very close to winning in Maine, Minnesota, possibly the Washington State caucuses right before Super Tuesday. So, look, to say that Mitt Romney is the clear favorite to be the Republican nominee is obvious, but I think that it is also important to note that it is not over, and that the other candidates will almost certainly win at least some contests between now and June.

MALVEAUX: And I should say Nevada. I have been told that is how folks say it there. And we have a new study out, and it says this is the most negative campaign in history. We have a group, the Campaign Media Analysis Group, that says that 92 percent of the ads in Florida were negative.

Romney and Gingrich have both talked about it. This is how they responded to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you let your guard down to Mitt Romney, would you say?

NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I would say when you are outspent with ads five to one that are dishonest.

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: he really can't whine about negative campaigning when he launched a very negative campaign in South Carolina, and when the people here in Florida looked at the different campaigns and considered his were the most negative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Larry, there's no doubt, no question this is a negative campaign. What kind of impact will it have on the general election?

SABATO: Well, it doesn't help the nominee simply because it creates divisions within the party that are then tougher to heal. Sometimes they heal, as they did in the Obama/Hillary Clinton contest in 2008. Sometimes they don't heal, as in the Carter/Kennedy contest back in 1980.

And look, it was an extremely negative campaign, but number one, it worked and number two, Suzanne, maybe it is my age, but I have seen so many highly negative campaigns. I would put the LBJ/Goldwater race in 1964 and the Bush/Dukakis race of 1988 right up with this one or right down with this one, I guess you could say. We have had a lot of extremely negative race, and somebody still wins.

MALVEAUX: Well, it is not the age there, because I remember the slugfest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was a drag out, and knock out kind of fight, that went on for a long time. And do we think that Rick Santorum and Ron Paul will stick this out for a little bit longer?

SABATO: Well, it is an easy bet for Ron Paul. Yes. He will stick it out all of the way through, and will be at the convention, and in some role, I would think, given the number of delicates that he will have.

Rick Santorum, I'm less sure about simply because he is -- he is young. He has a future, and he can run again. Gingrich is not running again, and Ron Paul is not running again, and Romney is not running again. So there is a different dynamic with Rick Santorum, and it may encourage him at some point to make the peace with the eventual nominee and the party establishment.

MALVEAUX: All right. Larry, good to see you. Thank you as always.

All right. Super Bowl coming up, and are you thinking of buying a TV? Don't do it until you check out the "Top Tips," up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Looking forward to Super Bowl Sunday? Are you going to watch the game or the ads? Either way, you need a good TV.

Felicia Taylor has "Top Tips."

I just like to watch because it's a big party. What should you look for in a new TV?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm with you, Suzanne. I just want to go for the party. Absolutely. But when it comes to televisions, 111 million people watched last year's broadcast f you're planning on finding a new TV to watch, they are not offering great deals but prices have come down in the last year. It's still possible that you can get a decent price. Shop a little bit -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Four days until the big game. Is it even possible to get tickets?

We lost her. Maybe she'll come back and answer that question for us. Maybe there are still tickets available.

All right. Mitt Romney certainly talking like a front-runner and now he's going to travel like one. His own secret security. We have the details in the "Political Ticker" up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Want to bring back Felicia.

We lost you there. We lost your signal. We were just asking about Super Bowl tickets if it's possible to get some before Super Bowl Sunday. Yes?

TAYLOR: It is possible. That's where I went. I was trying to get some tickets.

(LAUGHTER)

No, I'm kidding. If you are looking to buy tickets online, be careful. There are sites like Craig's List that offer thousands of tickets but there's no guarantee that those tickets are genuine. Obviously, you want to go through the effort and get turned away. The Better Business Bureau warns that cameras are able to print tickets that look authentic. Buying tickets in person might not be any better. Instead, go to sites like stubhub.com. I've used stubhub and it's very reliable. There is also ticket exchange by Ticketmaster. They guarantee their tickets. But their pricey. Tickets start at $2200 each.

MALVEAUX: Really?

TAYLOR: And that doesn't include the airfare to Indianapolis.

MALVEAUX: And once you are there, can you get into the stadium? Is it a tough thing to do?

TAYLOR: Well, if you have a ticket, of course not. But like I said, if you're going to go there without a ticket and just hope that you can get them outside of the stadium, you might have a problem and you're certainly going to pay a premium and people are trying to sell tickets.

MALVEAUX: Felicia, thank you. I'm just going to find a party and sit there and eat and have a good time.

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR: Me, too.

MALVEAUX: The first lady put Jay Leno on the spot last night. Forced him on camera to eat better and that was a milestone. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Wait, wait, wait. We have apples.

JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Apples?

OBAMA: Because I heard you haven't had an apple in a decade. Some of our White House honey.

LENO: This is White House honey?

OBAMA: Because if you dip it, it will help it go down a little easier.

LENO: White House honey. That sounds bad.

(LAUGHTER)

You know that?

(LAUGHTER)

With a different president, that could mean a whole different thing.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, that's pretty funny.

Mitt Romney back on top, taking back front-runner status. A huge win in Florida.

Our political director, Mark Preston, is joining us.

Honey actually comes from -- they have bees and beehives at the White House and they take the honey from the bees.

MARK PRESTON, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's her whole garden issue. It's interesting.

(LAUGHTER)

It's not quite like playing football, like the Kennedys.

MALVEAUX: Exactly.

Tell us a little bit about the race. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, a lot of back and forth. Hard hitting and very negative ads here. Gingrich didn't pick up the phone and call Romney and say, congratulations. Still a lot of bad blood?

PRESTON: A lot of bad blood. I can't imagine that it's ever going to get better. There's been a lot of discussion in the last 12 to 14 hours about why Newt Gingrich didn't do it and voters care. It's not whether voters care. It's symbolic of how bad it's gotten between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Very personal. But they go beyond policy. Last night Newt Gingrich's daughter was asked by Piers Morgan about the telephone call. She said, look, it's the fact of the race and we're going on to 46 more states and we plan to win. So are you ready for this one? We're in for a long haul.

MALVEAUX: A little bit of bitterness.

PRESTON: Yes. So Mitt Romney will pick up Secret Service protection and we've already seen it. Herman Cain requested and received it. What we'll see now -- there's a blessing and a curse. For the many years that you've covered the White House, the blessing is that the Secret Service in many ways can be a buffer so that the reporters can't get very close to the president or the candidate.

MALVEAUX: Right.

PRESTON: The curse is that the candidate can't get as close to the voters. We'll see how Mr. Romney is able to weight that.

MALVEAUX: He needs to get close to the people because he's the one person that is not relating enough or is not really close or connected to folks who are every day working folks on the ground.

PRESTON: Yes. And really that is something that his campaign is trying to overcome, that he's somebody that can relate and pat you on the back. Remember Bill Clinton and Jay Leno. He would grab your arm and pull you in and pat you on the back. He might not know you but that's what he would do.

MALVEAUX: Where are you headed next, Mark? You and Paul are across the country doing the tough work here.

PRESTON: Get to go home for 24 hours tonight. And then we're back on the campaign trail. But it's been a lot of fun.

MALVEAUX: Does your wife and dog and kids still recognize you?

PRESTON: I don't know about the kids. I think the dog has written me off. The wife? Long time ago.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: OK. Mark, it's so good to see you.

PRESTON: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: For all political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.