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Who Supplied Houston's Meds?; Marvin Winans To Eulogize Houston; Jeremy Lin's Game Winner; New Advances In Iranian Nukes; Iran Denies Targeting Israelis; Protecting The Oil Flow; Tanks, Mortars Pound Homs; Fining Students For Breaking Rules; Rick Santorum Surges in Newest Polls; Santorum Becomes Romney's Newest Target; Obama Speaks to Workers in Milwaukee

Aired February 15, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody, I am Zoraida Sambolin. It is 1:00 on the east coast, 10:00 on the west coast. We've got a busy hour ahead, let's get you in the zone.

Today, we know a whole lot more about the focus can of the Whitney Houston's death investigation. Authorities are following the pills found in Houston's hotel suite and may be in her system, to the doctors to the pharmacies that provided them. CNN's Don Lemon has the latest from Los Angeles and our colleague, Susan Candiotti, has more about the funeral preparations in Newark. Don, let's begin with you here. How is the coroner's office tracing those prescription drugs?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What they've done, Zoraida -- good afternoon, by the way. What they have done here is they have subpoenaed several pharmacies and several doctors from the prescription medications that were found in Whitney Houston's hotel suite. And according to the coroner, they say they're doing that because they want to know exactly what was in her system. As you said, they're trying to trace the doctors and the pharmacies.

One thing, as they say, will possibly lead to another, so they're speaking to doctors both here on the west coast in California and also on the east coast. One thing leads to another in this sense, Zoraida, if you go to a doctor, he may be an ear, nose, and throat specialist. And he says, you know what? You're really having a problem with your teeth, so you're going to need to go to a dentist to take care of that tooth -- I'm just using it as an example. So, one doctor may have recommended another doctor. So, they're trying to get to the bottom of it to see if all of the prescriptions were on the up and up, that she wasn't prescription shopping or doctor shopping.

And I want to emphasize, according to the coroner, he said, very clearly, nothing seems out of the ordinary or in fairies (ph), at this point, especially when it comes to the prescription drugs. And every single person he's contacted, the doctors and the pharmacy, every single one of them involved have been very cooperative, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: Dan, let me ask you this, is there any sort of a database? If you are buying drugs in two different states in order for this investigation to be a little bit simpler, in order to find out what was prescribed here versus what was prescribed there, because these are controlled substances, aren't they?

LEMON: Yes. Well, here's the thing. If you get some things -- some medications, especially like Sudafed -- I've been taking it for a cold. If you get Sudafed or something like that, you have to go to the counter and ask, right? If you get something like an Oxycontin or an Adderall or whatever, that is a controlled substance where you have to in and get the prescription.

About a database, that's a little bit beyond my daily wick (ph). I would suggest that you would ask that to our Dr. Gupta. But here's what I do know from my conversation with Ed Winter this morning. He said, every single prescription that you have had over the last couple of years is with the pharmacy. So, if they go to this -- a particular pharmacy and they find, you know, Whitney Houston had this prescription filled at pharmacy XYZ, or ABC, they go to that pharmacy, will tell you every single prescription she's had filled at that particular pharmacy. Her medical records will tell you every single prescription she's had filled at that particular -- or has had prescribed from that particular doctor. A database, I'm not sure. I think if there was one, they wouldn't be subpoenaing all of these doctors and pharmacies, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Don Lemon, live for us in Los Angeles. Thank you. Now to Susan Candiotti, she is back east in Newark. Susan, what more do we know about the service on Saturday?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, slowly the plans for it are coming forward. There's been no information released, as yet, about who will be among the invitees. You know, this is going to be a private service, a private funeral as well as the burial. We do know this, Zoraida. There are expected to be 1,500 people packed inside the New Hope Baptist Church, the childhood church of Whitney Houston. We've seen that beautiful video time and again of her singing as a youngster here inside the choir.

We also know that it will be officiated by Reverend Joe Carter who himself met Whitney Houston from time to time when she would come back to this church and sing on special occasions or sit here in the church as well at various services. We also know who will be eulogizing her. It will be Marvin Winans, he's the pastor of his own church back in Detroit who remembers that he saw Whitney Houston last fall when she was in Detroit filming the movie "Sparkle," which we hope will be released perhaps sometime later this year, don't have a release date on that, yet. But he spoke earlier today with Anderson Cooper, and we'll hear that exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper on his show at 8:00 tonight. Here is part of Reverend -- what he said about that, Reverend Winans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. MARVIN WINANS, PASTOR, PERFECTING CHURCH: When I heard that Whitney was gone, I have to say I wasn't surprised because that's how close our families were. As you've probably heard, when she was here in November, she was at church. I did not know that that was the last time I would see her. But that was a frequent thing, I mean, whenever she was in town, she would come here. Whenever she had a concert, she would call and we could get together. So, I would much rather have Whitney here but knowing them as I do, I kind of expected it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: We also know that Reverend Winans goes back with the Houston family. And he also married Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown back in 1992 -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: Just very quickly, Susan. We don't have a lot of time, but you know a lot of people want to know if they are going to be able to participate. I know that there are few people that actually fit inside of the church. Are there any efforts to make sure that the folks that are congregated outside can actually witness the ceremony -- the service?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it's possibly, you know. If we take a quick look at -- see all the mementos over my shoulder, you see people leaving behind candles and flowers and other -- notes to Whitney Houston. There is a possibility that a big screen television will be set up outside this church. The Reverend Carter is working on that so that at least the people who come here today outside the church will be able to see and hear it. I will let you know as soon as we learn more about that ourselves.

SAMBOLIN: We really appreciate that. Susan Candiotti, live in Newark, New Jersey. Thank you.

Is it showcasing technology or a show of defiance? Either way, the images coming out of Iran today aren't helping diffuse global tensions. So, what is Iran trying to prove with this image here? And should the United States and Israel be worried? We'll get answers coming up next.

But, first, he was the center of the sports universe, even more this happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lin puts it up, bam! Jeremy Lin puts down. The Knicks take the lead!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: What a moment. Jeremy Lin sinking that game winning three pointer for the Knicks in Toronto with half a second left on the clock, leading the team to the sixth straight win. No question he is today's Rock Star.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Iran is showing off two major new advances in nuclear technology. And you may recognize one of those guys in the white coats there, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, personally helped load the countries first homemade nuclear fuel rods into the core of a (INAUDIBLE) reactor. He also announced a new generation of centrifuges at a Uranium enrichment site, all of which Iran insists is innocent for civilian energy needs and cancer treatments. It's hoping to convince the Europeans in a new round of talks but the E.U. has not responded.

My guest today in Facetime knows this ongoing saga very well and the global repercussions like few others do. Trita Parsi, a founder and president of the National Iranian-American Council. Thank you for being with us today. Also, the author of the new book, "A Single Roll of the Dice, Obama's Diplomacy With Iran." Doctor Parse, what do you make of these nuclear breakthroughs combined with a diplomatic outreach?

TRITA PARSI, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL IRANIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL: Well, I don't think it is a coincidence that they have announced this breakthrough and I think it is an interesting breakthrough, quite an important breakthrough, if it turns out to be entirely true. At the same day that they have sent a letter to Lady Ashton declaring their willingness to negotiate. We have seen the process in the last year in which the west, on the one hand, has imposed more sanctions than Iran. There has been a sabotage of their nuclear program through computer viruses. There's also been assassinations of Iranian scientists all with the aim of weakening the Iranian position in the hope that the Iranians would give major concessions or even capitulate that to the negotiating table. The Iranians appear to be playing the same game. They're going to wait until they have a major breakthrough, an escalation of the nuclear program before they go to the table. I think it is a worrisome sign, because it doesn't seem to create the type of atmosphere needed in order to make sure that diplomacy succeeds.

SAMBOLIN: Well, let's talk about some of these attacks. It comes the same week that someone carried out a bomb attack against Israeli diplomats in India and in the Republic of Georgia as well and tried to bomb a guest house in Thailand. Israel blames Iran, and, of course, Iran blames Israel. Let's hear what prime minister Netanyahu said, and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (translator): Iran is the threat to the stability of the world. They are targeting innocent diplomats. The international community has to denounce the Iranian actions and to indicate red lines concerning the Iranian aggression. This kind of aggression, if it isn't stopped, will spread to many other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: So for its part, Iran blames Israel for those attacks and we know that Iranian scientists have been killed in all those bomb attacks. So are these countries at war already?

PARSI: Well, they are very close at being at war and I think this is something that the Obama administration is very worried about. There is a lot of tensions right now between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration. There is a lot of fear on the Obama side that Israel might take military action against Iran, something that the U.S. military is completely set against. And I think it shows how dangerous this process is because we had assassinations of Iranian scientists, the U.S. government has come out in an NBC report and said that Israel was behind those assassinations. We have these attempts of killing Israeli diplomats.

We're very, very close to a complete explosion of the situation. That's why it's so important to get back to the negotiating table. But instead of just having yet another meeting, yet another one of these one off meetings, it's important to put into place a diplomatic process, a more sustainable patient diplomatic process that actually can get the situation resolved, because these one off meetings in which both sides have come there and exchanged ultimatums have not resolved anything so far and are not likely to resolve anything.

SAMBOLIN: And I think most Americans would agree with you. I want to talk about a brand new CNN poll indicating most Americans want to solve this problem diplomatically and would rather do nothing than go to war. Is that music to the ears of Ahmadinejad or are the sanctions beginning to actually hurt?

PARSI: Well, the sanctions are definitely hurting the Iranian economy, and the people that are most affected by that pain, of course, is the Iranian people. I think the polls are quite interesting because it shows that as people start to become aware of what the consequences of war would be, people are quite supportive of an idea of getting a diplomatic process going. That is critical, actually, because what has been a major problem, both on the Iranian side and on the American side from getting diplomacy to turn into a process, not just a couple of meetings, has been limitations in the political space at home. If that space opens up and if there is broad support for these talks and political pressure for that, I think the administration would be in a much better position to pursue the type of patient diplomacy that can succeed.

SAMBOLIN: Let's talk a little bit about the threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. Do you take those seriously from Iran?

PARSI: No, I think it's -- at this stage, mostly bluster that's aimed at warning the rest of what Iran could do as well as trying to get oil prices to go up just by making the threats, because oil prices are largely driven, right now, by the risk premium.

But I would also say that if there is a military attack on Iran, and the Iranians can sell their own oil anyways, then I don't see it as being unrealistic that the Iranians would take such a desperate measure. And I think, again, it reminds us of why it's so important to walk back and try to find a peaceful solution to this because war would be a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

SAMBOLIN: Absolutely. Doctor Trita Parsi, thank you for joining us.

PARSI: Thank you for having me.

SAMBOLIN: The situation is Syria is going from bad to much worse. Human rights groups say landlines and Internet access are being shut off in parts of the country. But we are still getting horrifying images through social media, like this video, reportedly of civilians being used as human shields. CNN has a reporter on the ground there. We're going to check in with her, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: It's been another deadly day in Syria, with government tanks and mortars shelling the opposition strongholds of Homs, Hama and other targets in the country. In Homs, an explosion hits an oil pipeline, sending a large plume of smoke rising into the skyline. Take a look at that. Opposition groups say at least 23 people have been killed in Homs and elsewhere today.

And scenes like this continue in Homs, where tank, machine gun and sniper fire has ripped through the city all day long. In Hama, tanks and troops in the streets. Dissidents say landlines, cell phone communication and Internet access in the city have been cut off.

Another sign of President Bashar al-Assad's brutality, this YouTube video reportedly shows civilians being used as human shields. Right there on the left hand side of your screen. This is in a Damascus suburb. Dissidents say civilians are being placed on tanks to prevent rebel forces from returning fire.

Arwa Damon is in Homs with a CNN team seeing first-hand the horror residents have been experiencing for months now. She has more on that pipeline explosion. Her report was filed from an undisclosed location to protect her safety a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That smoke you're seeing rising is from an oil pipeline that is believed to have been hit. What we heard was three explosions at around 6:30 in the morning. Shortly thereafter, that thick plum of black smoke began covering the skyline here. This is not the first time that we have seen these types of images emerging from the besieged city of Homs. That pipeline has been hit on at least two other occasions.

The Syrian military has really intensified its defense (INAUDIBLE), especially in the neighborhood of Babaamli (ph). Activists are telling us that they believe that the Syrian government is on the campaign to flatten every single neighborhoods where there has been some sort of opposition, some sort of effort to try to stand up to this government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: That report from Syria by Arwa Damon and her CNN team.

Coming up, a Chicago charter school is facing heat from some angry parents who say their kids are being unfairly fined for the most minor of offenses. And I did say fined. The school is charging $5 a pop for things like chewing gum, not sitting up straight, or having their shoelaces untied. What do you think? Is it too strict or is this a good idea? Well, stay right there, because, up next, I speak to both sides of the debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: A Chicago charter school network is causing quite an uproar by fining misbehaving students. Some parents complained the Noble Street Schools are imposing fines on their kids for all sorts of minor infractions, like not looking the teacher in the eye or having their shoe laces untied. The fines have brought in almost $400,000 for the schools over the past two years. And critics say they're a burden on low income families. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel came out in support of this system and he told "The Sun Times," quote, "facts are a stubborn thing. Parents can make a choice. If they don't want to do it, they don't have to go there. They choose to go there and they choose to resend their kids year-in, year-out. More parents, almost by a ratio of four to one, want to send their kids to this school because it has incredible results."

So we are joined by a parent, Donna Moore, from Chicago. And in a moment we'll talk to Superintendent Michael Milkie.

Donna, we're going to begin with you here. How does the system work? Can you explain it to us?

DONNA MOORE, PARENT, NOBLE CHARTER SCHOOLS: Well, I will give an example of my son who was fined or received a detention for slouching. The detention turned into a suspension because he fell asleep in detention. The detentions added up to even more suspensions and then to a retention. Now, each detention is $5 and then those add up to behavior classes, which can cost up to $300. So for a parent --

SAMBOLIN: (INAUDIBLE) --

MOORE: Yes, Zoraida?

SAMBOLIN: No, I didn't mean to interrupt you. No, go ahead, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead.

MOORE: Oh. For -- so for a parent, paying $5 can mean a difference in the lifeline. It can mean a difference in the parent making a decision to pay $5 for bus fare because they're unemployed to look for a job. It can make a -- it can be -- make a difference in a parent deciding to pay $300 for behavior class or $300 to pay their heating bills.

But the cost is more than just about the money. It's the cost of constantly suspending -- giving children detentions for very minor things. It lowers their self-esteem.

SAMBOLIN: OK. I do want to interrupt you here for a minute --

MOORE: Yes, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: Because we are talking about high school kids here, right? You have a high schooler?

MOORE: I have a high schooler. SAMBOLIN: OK. So some folks -- some folks are contending that this really is part of discipline, right, and following the rules. And that by the time you get to high school, you really should own this. You should be able to follow the rules. And if you did, that you wouldn't have to worry about the detentions.

MOORE: Well, Zoraida, it is -- we're not against holding children accountable for bad behavior or for them following or learning the rules. But what we're talking about is just commonsense discipline. Commonsense discipline that leads to positive outcomes. So, for instance, if -- whatever happened to, a child who falls asleep in a classroom, whatever happened to asking if that child is having some problems at home or if there's a -- or is there a medical or sleep disorder? But instead of that, that child is suspended from class.

SAMBOLIN: Well, I did read --

MOORE: So --

SAMBOLIN: I did read on this and they did say that if there are some issues, whether it's that you can't pay for the fines or whether there's a learning disability, perhaps, or a problem with the child, that they do address those things. You find that that's not the case?

MOORE: I have not had that experience. And other parents that I have talked to have not had that experience. There have been parents who have pulled their children out. You have to make the decision. Either you pay the $300 or you pay your heating bill or you pay your rent. And this is -- I mean this is not something you're -- we're asking for just commonsense discipline approaches leading to positive outcome.

SAMBOLIN: So if they -- if they -- so if they took away the fines --

MOORE: Yes.

SAMBOLIN: If they took away the fines and there was some other punishment, would that be acceptable? Or consequences? Maybe punishment is the wrong word here.

MOORE: Well, punishment is the word that is used in the school and punishment for a child who falls asleep who could have a sleeping disorder or may have some problems at home, why are you punishing the child? Why not find out what is going on with the child in order to help improve the situation so that the child can move on? But instead, you're robbing the parents. You're cause -- you're robbing the parents through the fines and you're robbing the child of an education and of a future.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Donna Moore --

MOORE: But the cost --

SAMBOLIN: Thank you, Donna, for joining us.

MOORE: The cost -- OK. OK.

SAMBOLIN: We appreciate your time.

So we're joined now by Michael Milkie, superintendent there in Chicago. The CEO of the Noble Charter School Network.

Thank you for joining us.

You just heard Donna. She's pretty upset here. What was the goal with the disciplinary policy?

MICHAEL MILKIE, CEO, NOBLE CHARTER SCHOOLS NETWORK: So, there's really two goals. One is to have students develop life-long skills of self- discipline and punctuality and respect. Skills that they'll use in college or in the job. And, you know, the second goal is to make sure that students have a learning environment where they can be taught. Teachers can teach, student can learn and they get ready for college. 9 percent of our students go on to college, far higher than district averages. Our dropout rate is half of the district average. This is what parents want. It's not perfect but it's something that provides a safe, orderly learning environment and that they can have incredible numbers.

SAMBOLIN: As we look at the list of some of these things you give the demerits for, some are more commonsense. But I've got to tell you, when we talked to a lot of the parents, what they seemed concerned about is that you give demerits for untied shoelaces. Why?

MILKIE: We give just one demerit for untied -- because that's part -- you've got to have some rules and that's a rule that we have. It's one demerit. And if you do it four times, there is a detention. It's about having self discipline and presenting yourself well and preparing yourself for college, for job interviews, for scholarship interviews. Our students earned millions of dollars in scholarships last year but that is so much ore important than the detention piece that we're collecting, that don't even cover the cost of administering the summer classes, for instance. Partially, it defrays those costs, yet, at the same time, students are scoring life-long lessons that will them be successful in college and careers and be better citizens. And, you know, you can argue --

(CROSSTALK)

MILKIE: -- about any individual rule --

(CROSSTALK)

SAMBOLIN: Superintendent, let me interrupt you here. 89 percent of the students in your school are low income. And one of the things that Mrs. Moore was arguing is that this is a financial hardship for those families. So is there another opportunity for these children or for these students to make this up other than paying fines.

MILKIE: So it's not a fine. Again, it's a (INAUDIBLE). We certainly can and will work with parents as far as payment plans and paying it over a period of time, as the students who work on the behavior. And almost all the students that get that, during the year, they might have 20 detections. But by the time they are seniors, it's two. Then they are earning scholarships that far away in the fee they might have paid. Both from a fairness aspect and because we want students to see that there are consequences for your action and they do disrupt others and they do take resources away, we want them to learn that lesson. Sometimes it's painful but sometimes those are the most important lessons. Our college success, we have some of the highest ACT scores in the city and students that go on to college, thousands who otherwise would not be in college. And part of that is because of the self-discipline that they develop they develop and learning to operate I think within the system.

SAMBOLIN: I congratulate you for all of those. I congratulate you for all of those accomplishments. But there's one more thing I wanted to deal with that she mentioned. That perhaps there's a problem at home --

MILKIE: Sure.

SAMBOLIN: -- and the child is falling asleep in the classroom because the child doesn't have the opportunity to sleep at home or doesn't get the meals that it needs at home. Are there safety measures in place to deal with things like that?

SAMBOLIN: Yes. That's a fair question. Absolutely, yes. In fact, we put more social workers on average in our schools than most schools to deal with issues at home. Doesn't mean we always take away the consequence. Some times we don't. That lesson has to go along with the support from the social worker, from the advisers from the teachers and from the parents. And all of us working together helps us achieve things for students who have problems at home or have income issues. they work themselves out of that and they are ready so that they're college students and when they're parents, they're in better financial shape and they're in a more structured environment where they can make this next generation even better. But we need the parents' help. We offer help. And working together, these students have been extraordinarily successful.

SAMBOLIN: Michael Milkie, congratulations to you. Thank you for joining us today.

Mitt Romney has the money and organization and the most delegates to date. So why doesn't you have the momentum? Up next, the rocky road ahead for Mitt. Does he need a major shift in Strategy? That's next in "Fair Game."

But, first, a question for our "Political Junkies" out there. Rick Santorum is campaigning in North Dakota. Only one Democratic presidential candidate has won North Dakota in the last 60 years? Who was it? Be the first to tweet the answer, the right answer to ZoraidaCNN and I'll give you a shout out right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK0

SAMBOLIN: Before the break I asked who was the only Democratic presidential candidate to win North Dakota in the last 60 years. The answer, Lyndon Johnson, in 1964. Congratulations to Tom who was the first to tweet the right answer. And Rick Santorum's stock is on the rise, big time. Check out these new CNN/ORC poll numbers. Santorum and Romney are virtually in a tie among Republicans. Santorum has 34 percent to Romney's 32 percent. Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich pretty far behind there.

What's fueling Santorum's surge? That's today's "Fair Game."

Brett O'Donnell is a Republican strategist. He joins me from Washington. And in Austin, Texas, Democratic consultant, Ed Espinoza.

Brett, we'll begin with you.

Rick Santorum is leading our new poll and state polls show him leading in Romney's home state of Michigan and even Ohio. Can we finally call this a two-man race?

BRETT O'DONNELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, I think it's too preliminary to call anything a two-man race. Remember, it was just about a month and a half ago that Rick Santorum was polling at 3 or 4 percent in national polls. Candidates have gone up and down. We saw Newt Gingrich surge to the lead and fall back. And one steady candidate in this race has been Mitt Romney. So we'll see now that Rick Santorum's out in the lead, how he stands up under the scrutiny of the bright lights.

SAMBOLIN: And, Ed, we're starting to hear complaints that Romney is great at taking down his opponents but not so great at telling voters why they should vote for them. Is that negative to be seen that way?

ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: It's not a good long-term strategy. If you give people reasons to not vote for the other guy, that's fine. It's just not a good recipe for long-term success. Sooner or later you have to tell people why to vote for you. He's been steady in this race at 25 percent, 30 percent. He's got to find a way to get past the hump. He hasn't been able to do it. Got to fix it.

SAMBOLIN: Brett, I want to talk to you about the human factor. Romney has the money and organization but still has not captured the heart of American minds. Look at this poll. More than half of Santorum's report strongly supports Santorum, but just 38 percent of Romney's supporters strongly support Romney. Why can't he close the deal with his party?

O'DONNELL: Well, I think he is starting to. First of all, I dispute a little bit of the premise that he hasn't been able to win the hearts and minds of voters. I think that's been popularized. It's a matter of positions and where Governor Romney has been. And he's been making the case, this past weekend at CPAC, he was able to win that straw poll, make the case that he is a conservative. So I think over time he has been making the case. It's just a matter of, voters have been very fickle and as candidates go up and down, it's affecting the numbers very dramatically. There's been wild swings and many of the numbers might be driven up by -- I tend to agree with Ed. He's got to make the affirmative case, not just why not to vote for the other guy.

SAMBOLIN: But, Brett, you have to admit it's been pretty consistent that he hasn't been able to connect with the voters?

O'DONNELL: I wouldn't say that he hasn't been able to connect with the voters. It's been the very conservative voters in the Republican Party. He's connected with the moderate, the establishment, and the conservative voters in the Republican electorate. I think he's starting to make the case. In Florida, he won almost 50 percent of the vote. So I think that, over time, we'll see what happens with Rick Santorum.

If it gets into a two-person race, which it could be approaching, then I think that opens up a new line, a landline field for Governor Romney. We'll see how that plays out. To this point, he's been the most steady candidate and every candidate who has challenged him, he's been able to come out and win victoriously. In South Carolina, I think that losing South Carolina made Governor Romney a stronger candidate in Florida. He was able to go on to a strong victory there and the defeats last week were pushing the Romney campaign even harder.

SAMBOLIN: He's facing another big challenge and I want you both to weigh in on this. He could really lose Michigan. The state where he grew up, where his father was governor, how big of a deal is that going to be?

Ed, I'll start with you.

ESPINOZA: If losing South Carolina made him a stronger candidate in Florida, you would think that Romney would be a strong candidate after losing three primaries last week which would mean that he should be able to win in Michigan but he's struggling in Michigan. Romney is capable of building a national organization that is well funded but he's not able to connect with the voters. The $10,000 bet comment, other comments that really create questions in people's minds as to whether or not this is the guy that can win them over. He's given people plenty of reasons to like him, just not enough reasons to love him.

SAMBOLIN: Brett, I'm almost running out of time. So I want you to chime in, Brett.

O'DONNELL: Well, you know, I think that, first of all, almost two weeks before those two primaries is like a lifetime in this election because things have been moving so quickly. And so we'll have to wait and see how things play out. There's a debate on CNN next week, which could change the campaign headed into Arizona and Michigan. But I think if Governor Romney were to lose Michigan it might elongate this race. I still think he's the candidate of choice and the candidate that will win the nomination. But depending on who wins Michigan will determine how long that fight might go.

SAMBOLIN: Gentlemen, I'll have to leave it there.

Brett O'Donnell, Ed Espinoza, thank you both. That is "Fair Game."

He might not be considered the front-runner yet, but Rick Santorum certainly has the buzz. That means he's also got the bulls eye. Up next, Santorum is now Romney's newest target.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: This is a live look in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. President Obama is going to discuss manufacturing, in-sourcing of jobs, new investments and training American workers. We are monitoring this situation for you. Master Lock is the world's largest manufacturer of padlocks and related security products. Since 2012, Master Lock has returned about 100 jobs to the U.S. that had been out- sourced overseas.

Rick Santorum's rise in the polls carries with it a new risk. He is now the target of critics, including Mitt Romney, who was largely ignored in the past.

CNN's senior correspondent, Joe Johns, has more on the risks and rewards of Santorum's new role in the political spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Rick Santorum, this is what it looked like at the top, tied for the lead in national polls in the race for the Republican nomination, with Occupy protesters in Tacoma, Washington, repeatedly interrupting the speech by the former Senator.

RICK SANTORUM, (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR: We appreciate the opportunity to be out here today.

(SHOUTING)

We appreciate all the voices that are here.

JOHNS: With no way to quiet the crowd, he took them on.

SANTORUM: I think it's really important for you to understand --

(SHOUTING)

SANTORUM: -- what this radical element represents.

(SHOUTING)

SANTORUM: Because what it represents is truly intolerance.

JOHNS: Though in this nomination race, the voice that he needs to be worried about is those within the party, especially Mitt Romney, who is refining how he describes his political leanings after calling himself a "severely conservative" governor didn't go over so well.

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Conservative values were also a part of my business experience, because in business, you don't have a choice of balancing your budget. You either balance your budget or go bankrupt.

JOHNS: He also did a biographical ad in which he's seen driving a car, describing his roots in the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I grew up in Michigan. It was exciting to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Romney also put out an op-ed in the "Detroit News" where he explained his opposition to the government bailout of the auto industry. Pointing out that he supported managed bankruptcy, which is what he said ended up happening.

Now though, he writes, "The government should dump the hold in G.M."

The Romney op-ed riled up congressional Democrats and the state's former Democratic government who unloaded in a conference call.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, FORMER DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR (voice-over): Mitt Romney turned his back on Michigan. I would say he stabbed us in the back during the darkest hour.

JOHNS: Polling shows Romney is slightly behind Santorum in Michigan. Economists, Peter Morici, say Romney hasn't sold his message.

PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST: But in Michigan, where they are somewhat sympathetic to activist government, a moderate conservative, so to speak, would sell well, but Mr. Romney simply is not the communicator that he needs to be to be president.

JOHNS: The big unknown is whether Romney or his friends of Restore Our Future would launch a barrage of anti-Santorum TV commercials to try to bury the former Senator in Michigan the way they buried the Newt Gingrich campaign in Florida. Restore Our Future has targeted Santorum before with this ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AD NARRATOR: It's called the ultimate Washington insider.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: Still ahead, some actual good news out of Washington for a change. If you're one of the millions of Americans tired of receiving those so-called robo calls, you can rest a little easier now. The FCC is stepping in to put a stop to them. We're going to tell you how, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Time now to collect stories making news at "Street Level."

A word of caution to patients using Avastin. There is a fake version of the cancer drug on the market. It's not known how much of it has been distributed or whether it has made anybody sick. But there are several differences in packaging and labeling that should allow doctors to spot the fake. The food and drug administration is investigating the case and has cautioned medical practices about the counterfeit Avastin.

Now to Washington where the Federal Communications Commission is set to change the rules for robo calls. Remember all the times you received marketing calls just when you were about to go to bed at night? According to the new rules, telemarketers need to get your permission in writing before placing that automated call. They must also let you opt out of any future messages during their robo call. But information calls, such as school closings and flight information will still be allowed.

In North Carolina, a mother is outraged because her daughter's homemade lunch was judged not nutritious enough by her preschool. The mom told the "Carolina Journal" that the lunch included a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, potato chips and apple juice. But that didn't pass muster with federal guidelines requiring two portions of fruits or vegetables, so she says the school gave her daughter cafeteria chicken nuggets and sent home a bill for a buck, 25.

Here in New York, the top pooch of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is this four-year-old Pekingese who carried off the best-in- show prize. He is the first Pekingese to win the top award since 1990. Malachi was lapping up his fame. A protest dubbed dogs against Romney. Only two or three dogs turned out.

Well, the big dogs are still behind Mitt Romney, at least. His super PAC today unleashes a huge million-dollar ad by blasting Rick Santorum. We're going to show it to you, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: President Obama is live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, talking to employees at Master Lock. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I took office -- a lot of UAW workers here. You guys remember this. When I took office, the American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And there was some folks who said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen.

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: I refused to let that happen. We said, in exchange for help, we're going to demand responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to restructure and retool, come up with better designs. Today, the American auto industry is back, and General Motors is once again the number-one automaker in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and equipment and factories. And altogether, over the past two years, the entire industry has added nearly 160,000 jobs. Well-paying jobs. What's happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. What happened in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Rawlins and Milwaukee, that's what we've got to be shooting for, is creating more opportunities for hard- working Americans to get in there and start making stuff again and sending it all over the world, stamped with those three proud words, "Made in America." That's our goal.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And that's what's happening right here at master lock, because of you. Over the last few years, it's become more expensive to do business in countries like China. Meanwhile, American workers, we've become even more productive.

So when John Hepner was at the White House in January, he told me how it makes more business sense for Master Lock to bring jobs back home here to Milwaukee.

(APPLAUSE)

And today, for the first time in 15 years, this plant is running at full capacity. And that's an example of what happens when unions and employers work together to create good jobs.

(APPLAUSE)

Today, you're selling products directly to customers in China stamped with those words, "Made in America."

(APPLAUSE)

And the good news is this is starting to happen around the country.

For the first time since 1990, American manufacturers are creating new jobs. That's good for the companies, but it's also good up and down the supply chain, because if you're making this stuff here, that means that there are producers and suppliers in and around the area who have a better chance of selling stuff here. It means the restaurant close by suddenly has more customers.

Everybody benefits when manufacturing is going strong. So you all have heard enough about outsourcing. More and more companies like Master Lock are now insourcing, deciding that if the cost of doing business here isn't too much different than the cost of doing business in places like China, then why wouldn't you rather do it right here in the United States of America?

(APPLAUSE)

(END LIVE SPEECH)