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U.S. Coast Guard to Rescue Stranded Yacht; Republicans Focus on Wisconsin

Aired April 01, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thanks for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're going to look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this political hour. But first an update on some of today's top stories.

U.S. Coast Guard crews are searching for a crippled racing yacht about 400 miles off the California coast. The boat was caught in a storm and smashed by waves. Several people on the yacht are hurt. They are reportedly unable to communicate or steer. The Coast Guard hopes to reach them sometime today.

A big change for some of the country's biggest military academies. Gay pride groups are being added to campus club rosters. This comes just six months after the repeal of the so-called "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that blocked service members from being openly gay.

The chairman of the House budget committee says he misspoke when he accused U.S. military officials about not being honest about the Pentagon budget. On CNN's "State of the Union" this morning, Candy Crowley told Paul Ryan that military leaders were a little offended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: I really misspoke, to be candid with you, Candy. I didn't mean to make that kind of an impression. So I was clumsy in how I was describing the point I was trying to make. And the point I was trying to make and General (INAUDIBLE) and I spoke after that, and I wanted to give that point to him, which was that was not what I was attempting to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ryan is the leading Republican on the budget debate. The House passed his budget plan last week.

All eyes are on Wisconsin, Maryland and D.C. this week. They hold primaries in just two days. Mitt Romney looks like he'll win big in Wisconsin. An NBC (INAUDIBLE) poll puts Romney ahead there with 40 percent of the vote, Santorum with 33 percent. The former Massachusetts governor is encouraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got a ways to go before I get 1,144 delegates. I'm not counting the delegates before they hatch. But I'm going to keep working very hard. And hope I get a good strong sendoff from Wisconsin. I've got a good boost from the folks in Illinois. And if I can get that boost also from Wisconsin, I think we'll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention. Sure hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Shannon Travis is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So Shannon, what's the mood like in Wisconsin just two days away before that primary?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, Fred, I would say that the mood is one of anticipation and resignation. What I mean by that is as you just mentioned the polls are showing that Romney is doing well here. A lot of people certainly anticipate that he'll have a strong showing, if not outright just take this contest.

He's obviously gotten the trio of major endorsements from Wisconsinites, Senator Ron Johnson, Paul Ryan, House Budget chairman as well as the endorsement of the newspaper, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel." So he's certainly looking very strong. However, when I say resignation a lot of supporters for the other candidates are resigned that Mitt Romney's going to be the candidate, meaning that not necessarily so happy about that.

I don't know if we have a picture to show you. But I was at an event on Friday, a Newt Gingrich event across from Lambeau Field, and there was a 64-year-old man from Appleton who said he's torn between Santorum and Newt. He had this really interesting sign, Fred, which basically suggested that Mitt Romney should go join forces, of all people, President Obama and be his vice president. Because in this man's words, Mitt Romney is just too liberal to be a Republican nominee. Fred?

WHITFIELD: So, you know, Shannon, if Romney were to win all three primaries, will it mean the road to Tampa is clear for him? Is that the translation for the Romney team?

TRAVIS: I mean, Fred, you'll definitely hear that from not only the Romney camp, but some of his supporters, saying that they're already saying forget about - they're already saying that this race is essentially over. Because the other candidates have essentially conceded that it's going to be nearly impossible to get to 1,144 with these proportional contests going on.

So if he wins all three on Tuesday, you're going to hear those same people say even more. Look Newt Gingrich, look Rick Santorum, it's time for you to clear the path. Now, obviously, Gingrich and Santorum have said that until Mitt Romney clinches 1,144 delegates they're going to stay in this race. And they've even suggested that if it goes to the convention and there's a floor fight, that they're ready for it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shannon Travis, thanks so much, from Milwaukee. So the GOP presidential contest remains for now a four-way race. Mitt Romney leads with 571 delegates. Rick Santorum has 264. And Newt Gingrich has 137. Ron Paul is at the bottom of the pack with just 71 delegates. So both Santorum and Gingrich, however, are vowing, as you heard Shannon say, to stay in the race until the Tampa convention.

Republican consultant Alex Castellano joins us now from Washington. Good to see you, Alex.

ALEX CASTELLANO, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Hello, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So if Romney indeed were to win Wisconsin, will there be a greater pressure on the others to call it quits after Tuesday?

CASTELLANO:: I think the pressure's picking up with every passing day, in a way, I think the Republican Party believes this race is over. It just won't end. And I think the party regulars understand that this is not good. We want to get started on the general election contrasting with President Obama instead of each other. But you know, Wisconsin is going to be a, I think a momentum booster for Romney.

And then after that, we have Pennsylvania's coming up soon. And that looks like a horse race. If Rick Santorum doesn't win in Pennsylvania, it's going to be hard for him to continue.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that would be incredibly devastating, because clearly he would want to put all eggs in that basket. But why would you think that Santorum would not do well in his home state of Pennsylvania?

CASTELLANO: Well, the latest survey numbers that I think we've been looking at when you average a bunch of surveys together shows that the race is basically tied. Romney is within a point or so, I think, in Pennsylvania. Again, his home state. Romney has done well in states where the evangelical vote is less than 50 percent of the Republican primary electorate. Southern states where the evangelical vote is high, Romney has done so well. There are very few of those states left in the process. You know, you do have a few big ones like Texas. But Wisconsin should be a Romney state. Pennsylvania, he should do pretty well.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So Pennsylvania, that's April 24th, getting ahead of ourselves. But for now, come Tuesday, you know, Wisconsin, Maryland, D.C., you know, the Republican National Committee chairman who was also the former party chairman in Wisconsin says whoever wins Wisconsin will have some serious bragging rights. Is this state - or is that race particularly pivotal?

CASTELLANO: You know, it is. We're at this point now where it's pretty obvious that Romney is on his way to the nomination. It's a stop mid campaign. They don't seem to be able to do it. If these other candidates are depreciating assets, their value goes down every day that Mitt Romney gets closer to the nomination.

So if they want to trade for something, if they want a better speaking slot at the convention, if they want nicer hotel rooms, they need to cash in their equity now while they still have some. If they wait until the last minute, nobody's going to buy.

WHITFIELD: All right. You mentioned that all these candidates stay in the race, imperpetuity, you know, until possibly a brokered convention, but that wouldn't be good for the Republican Party, at least the party feels that way. Is there palpable irritation within the GOP that there is this division right now, that they are not necessarily coalescing around one candidate, even though Romney has picked up so many recent powerful endorsements?

CASTELLANO: You know, there is less irritation than you think. And I think some of that falls back on Romney. I think most party regulars and voters feel that Romney's had every opportunity to put this race away, to really grasp it, and he hasn't done that. So they really don't fault the other candidates so much for making their case. And the other candidates -

WHITFIELD: Are they kind of blaming Romney?

CASTELLANO: You know, it's been sitting there for him to grab, and he hasn't done it. At some point, you know, you've got to step up to the plate and hit a home run or two.

WHITFIELD: What are they saying he's not doing?

CASTELLANO: And you can't fault the other candidates. Well, you know, we talk about, is this party divided. Are Republicans at each other's throats. Actually not. Frankly, the race is kind of boring. There isn't that much passion and intensity in it on the Republican side. But you know, it's not the fault of the candidates, Fredricka. One of the differences is, on the republican side, the candidates all kind of believe the same thing, especially about the big issue of the economy, cut taxes, cut spending in Washington and get money back in people's pockets out of D.C..

There isn't that much difference, there isn't that much drama or passion. That's all going to change in the general election. Because guess what? there are huge differences, as big as the Grand Canyon, between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alex Castellano, we'll see you again in a few minutes. Thanks so much.

All right. Restoring the United States to a prosperous nation with smaller government. That's the promise from Mitt Romney, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the special hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, where we're taking this time out every Sunday to let you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders in their own words out on the campaign trail. Three big endorsements for Mitt Romney this week. The biggest coming from former President George H.W. Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for coming. And Barbara and I are very proud to fully and enthusiastically endorse and support our old friend, Mitt Romney. He's a good man. He'll make a great president. And we just wish him well. So we're delighted he's here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So with key Republicans rallying around him, Mitt Romney sounds like he's done with the primary season and on to the presidential election. He's making direct attacks now on President Obama, and describing what he would do to change the system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: America is on the cusp of having a government-run economy. President Obama is transforming America into something very different than the land of the free, and the land of opportunity. And we know where that transformation leads. There are other nation that have followed that path. And it leads to chronic high unemployment, crushing debts, and stagnant wages.

Sound familiar? I don't want to transform America. I want to restore to America the values of economic freedom and opportunity, and small government that have made this nation the leader of the world. And I'll get that job done.

Freedom, and opportunity have made America the most powerful economy in the world. Let me say that again. What made us powerful? Freedom and opportunity. They are the foundation of a nation that has full unemployment, that has rising wages. That's fiscally stable. The best thing we can do for the economic well-being of our people is not to grow government. It is to restore freedom and opportunity. It's opportunity that has always driven America. And it has defined us as Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Ron Paul is spending his time in Wisconsin courting young voters. He spoke at the University of Wisconsin, telling students the federal government has gotten them in a financial mess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON PAUL, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I get asked a lot of times by the media exactly why are the young people interested in what I've been talking about. I said, well, there's a couple reasons. One is that they're getting a bad deal. You're inheriting a mess. You have a big debt to deal with. You have perpetual wars that never seem to end. But for various reasons, the Federal Reserve is an issue, personal liberty is an issue, the ongoing wars. And also, this deficit. There's a lot of problems. And I think it came together about four or five years ago when it was recognized with the financial crisis, how serious this was.

But also, we're winning these arguments. We're winning these arguments, certainly - certainly on the Federal Reserve. Just think, you know, it's been around for 100 years and this is the first time we've had a serious debate about whether it should even exist.

And last year, we actually, you know, got a Federal Reserve audit passed in the house. We got a partial audit passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Paul echoed the sentiment about reaching a new generation this morning when he was asked why he is staying in the race. Check out what he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: The votes haven't been counted. There's quite a few states right now, six or seven states that we're doing quite well through the delegate process. We don't even know who's getting what so far, and who knows what will happen on the first vote at the convention. So I would say that it's very encouraging, because I am talking to a whole generation, which is expanding, you know, as far as age goes. But when I can get 5,200 people out on college campuses, wildly enthusiastic to hear the message of liberty and freedom and less wars and curtailing the Federal Reserve, there's no way I'm going to quit speaking out on this and there's no way I'm going to give up on the effort to get the Republicans back to their roots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama remains focused on your wallet. Especially high gas prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": There's 2012 election news. This week, it's very interesting. Ron Paul said it's still too early to count him out as the Republican nominee. Seriously? That's like Newt Gingrich saying it's to early to count him out as an Abercrombie model. It's not going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We continue to delve into the issues on the presidential campaign. Every Sunday we're spending this hour of the "CNN Newsroom" to allow you to hear from the contenders as they spell out their ideas for the future for the United States.

While oil companies are making record profits, most drivers say they are hurting. In a new CNN-ORC poll, 71 percent say the high prices now averaging nearly $4 a gallon are causing a financial hardship. Still most Americans blame oil companies, not President Obama for the hike.

And the president is questioning why the federal government is giving tax breaks to the oil companies. He said the hikes might lie in alternative forms of energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The oil industry is doing just fine. With record profits, and rising production, I'm not worried about the big oil companies. With high oil prices around the world, they've got more than enough incentive to produce even more oil. That's why I think it's time they got by without more help from taxpayers who are already having a tough enough time paying the bills and filling up their gas tank.

I think it's curious that some folks in Congress who were the first to belittle investments in new sources of energy are the ones that are fighting the hardest to maintain these giveaways for the oil companies. Instead of taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising. Investments in wind power and solar power and biofuels, investments in fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and energy-efficient homes and buildings. That's the future. That's the only way we're going to break this cycle of high gas prices that happen year after year after year, as the economy is growing.

The only time you start seeing lower gas prices is when the economy is doing badly. That's not the kind of pattern that we want to be in. We want the economy doing well an people to be able to afford their energy costs. And keep in mind, we can't just drill our way out of this problem. As I said, oil production here in the United States is doing very well. And it's been doing well, even as gas prices are going up.

Well, the reason is, because we use more than 20 percent of the world's oil, but we only have two percent of the world's known oil reserves. That means we could drill every drop of American oil tomorrow, but we would still have to buy oil from other countries to make up the difference. We'd still have to depend on other countries to meet our energy needs. And because it's a world market, the fact that we're doing more here in the United States doesn't necessarily help us, because even U.S. oil companies, they're selling that oil on a worldwide market. They're not keeping it just for us.

And that means that if there's rising demand around the world, then the prices are going to go up. That's not the future that I want for America. I don't want folks like these back here and the folks in front of me to have to pay more at the pump every time that there's some unrest in the Middle East. And oil speculators get nervous about whether or not there's going to be enough supply. I don't want our kids to be held hostage, to events on the other side of the world. I want us to control our own destiny. I want us to forge our own future. And that's why as long as I'm president, America's going to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Which means we will continue developing our oil and gas resources in a robust and responsible way.

But it also means that we're going to keep developing more advanced home-grown biofuels, the kinds that are already powering trucks across America. We're going to keep investing in clean energy like the wind power and solar power that's already lighting thousands of homes and creating thousands of jobs. We're going to keep manufacturing more cars and trucks to get more miles to the gallon. So that you can fill up once every two weeks instead of every week. We're going to keep building more homes and businesses that waste less energy. So that you're in charge of your own energy bill.

We're going to do all of this by harnessing our most inexhaustible resource, American ingenuity and American imagination. That's where we need to keep going. That's what's at stake right now. That's the choice that we face. And that's the choice that's facing Congress today. They can either vote to spend billions of dollars more in oil subsidies that keep us trapped in the past, or they can vote to end these taxpayer subsidies that aren't needed to boost oil production so that we can invest in the future. It's that simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Newt Gingrich lays off one-third of his staff and promises to stay in the race until the Republican convention meets in Tampa, Florida. So what's he planning. We'll discuss it with a Gingrich insider.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST "CONAN": Newt Gingrich's campaign has had a little bit of money trouble. You heard about this. Newt Gingrich's campaign is now charging people $50 to pose for a picture with Newt. And for $100 you can get one without Newt. They're raking it in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh boy. That's Conan O'Brien on his late night show poking fun at Newt Gingrich. Welcome back to this special hour of the "CNN Newsroom." We're focusing on politics allowing you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders. So Newt Gingrich says he's determined to stay in the Republican presidential race despite laying off one third of his staff this week and at a rally in Milwaukee, Gingrich focused his attention on President Obama instead of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the heart of the power struggle we're engaged in as a country. Are we in fact a people where god - where power comes from god to each one of you personally, and you are personally sovereign. You loan power to the state. The state does not loan power to you. Now, is that true or not?

In Barack Obama's world that's not true. In his world the government is sovereign. We are subjects, not citizens. The government can tell us to do anything. If you actually read the questions going on with the Supreme Court and Obama care, they cut right to the heart of this. And it was Justice Breyer (INAUDIBLE) conservative, who said the other day, we are really questioning the degree to which the federal government can intervene directly and change our entire relationship between government and individuals.

Do you have rights, or do you only have residual benefits given to you by the government. If you have rights, the government can't interfere. So you see it working out right now in the Obama administration's attack in Catholicism, which is, by the way, not just an attack on Catholicism. Callista and I were at Louisiana College, which is a Baptist school which believes in right to life. And the president at the college said in introducing me, they will close the college rather than obey ObamaCare.

So any profound believer in right to life is faced with a crisis by this administration. And it's really a core question. I mean, the Left would like you to say, oh, this is about contraception. This is not about contraception.

This is about whether or not the government has the power to say to a religious organization, you will violate your religion, because if they can do it on this issue, they can do it on the next issue. They decide to order euthanasia, they can order euthanasia.

I mean, they're already driving Catholic adoption services out of business because they insist only on recognizing marriage between a man and a woman. And so they're saying, fine, you can't -- you can't have an adoption service.

This is a very fundamental question about the nature of America. Are we a country of religious liberty or are we a country in which only the government decides? If it's religious liberty, then the government is limited. But if it's government decisions, then it's religion which is limited.

WHITFIELD: All right. Newt Gingrich is down in delegate counts, but definitely not out. As we've been telling you, he has laid off one- third of his staff as well. He's also refocusing his efforts on picking up more delegates in key states rather than campaigning.

Conservative commentator and Republican strategist Rich Galen joining me now from Washington to break down this kind of redesigned Newt.

Good to see you, Rich. So you know Newt Gingrich rather well. What is really behind him staying in, even if he pares down his staff? What's going on?

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I don't think there's much else for him to do. I mean, he's been in this thing for a year. We're down to the last whatever it is, two, three, four months, whatever it is, until the convention.

So as far as he's concerned, he may as well stay in as long as, A, he's got enough money for the basics like hotel rooms and things like that, and B, as long as he maintains Secret Service protection because they pay for a good part of airplanes, they provide the ground transportation, I mean, a lot of logistics go on. So those two things allow him to stay in the race. But --

WHITFIELD: But stay in for what? I mean, I guess stay in for what, when you're talking about trying to reach that 1,144, that magic number of delegates? He's so far away from getting that. You still wonder what is it that's driving him in this race?

GALEN: I think it is -- I don't know this, because I'm not a psychologist, and even if I were, I wouldn't want to probe too deeply into how Newt is thinking.

WHITFIELD: Oh, but I want you to.

GALEN: But I suspect that it is in not the back of his mind, but sort of in the midbrain of his mind that if he can -- if he and Santorum and Ron Paul can stop -- can stop Romney from getting to 1,144, that there will -- there may come a moment at the convention which is hopelessly deadlocked, that Newt gives the stirring speech that has the delegates falling down in the aisles, quaking and shouting his name. I really do think that's what he thinks --

WHITFIELD: That's the hope.

GALEN: -- his last hope is. I don't think it's going to happen. And I don't think he thinks it's going to happen --

WHITFIELD: But we're a long way --

GALEN: (Inaudible).

WHITFIELD: -- from that moment then in Tampa. He does have to sustain himself in some way. Does this mean --

GALEN: Well, he could -- he keeps --

WHITFIELD: -- without the kind of campaign money --

GALEN: -- going back --

WHITFIELD: -- or without, I mean, he does have some super PAC money, but at some point that's going to dry up. Is he relying on kind of the sound bites that news organizations are going to put on the air, that are going to print, and that will help sustain him equally to what ads would do, if you had the deep --

(CROSSTALK)

GALEN: No, it's not going to -- it won't -- it won't get -- it won't keep him up at the ends. But let's take today as a perfect example. Newt spends all week -- I'm not sure what he did last week (inaudible) -- but he spends all week excoriating what he calls the elite media, of whom you are a member.

And then, sure enough on Sunday morning, one of the shows gets him to be on. And he was on "FACE THE NATION" this morning. I don't know what they get, eight, seven, six, 5 million people, whatever that is, plus the clips that get replayed and everything else.

So while on the one hand he generates support from anti-elite media Republicans by saying bad things about you, then the elite media cheerfully invites him on so that he can keep going. So, I mean, it's a pretty good strategy.

And, you know, I think it's a minimalist strategy. And there's some reason to believe that in Newtspeak, saying that he's changed the strategy of the campaign to a big ideas convention campaign, is essentially the same thing as him suspending most of my campaigning. I suspect we can find him at the Starbucks in McLean, Virginia, with some regularity.

WHITFIELD: Elite media, that's to be debated. However, he is benefiting from whatever form of media in which he can be a part of.

GALEN: Sure. And Walter Isaacson, in his book about Steve Jobs, talked about Steve Jobs creating a reality distortion field around himself. And what you saw in that clip was exactly the same thing. Newt is brilliant at posing the question in exactly the -- the only way that the answer is the answer that he wants to come to.

And if you're sitting in the audience -- and Newt is brilliant at this -- he weaves you into his spell, into his distortion field. Reality distortion field. And while he's speaking, you go, wow, that's really -- I think that's right.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's interesting.

GALEN: (Inaudible).

WHITFIELD: But if he's not able to, you know, turn, you know, that vernacular into votes, I mean, a primary or a caucus race, why does he feel that he's going to be able to mesmerize people from the floor of the convention, if, as you say, you know, he's hoping that people will be feeling like they're in church or something and falling to the floor and then suddenly decide he's their guy?

GALEN: Yes, well, because he is good at it. He is good at doing that.

WHITFIELD: But it's not translating into delegates --

GALEN: Well, because it's -- because the -- because it doesn't happen the same way as it happens in a convention. When you're doing this in a caucus state or a primary state, they don't go to vote until three or four days later. The end of my reality distortion field is, you get in the car, on your way home, and you go, you know, I don't think that's right. And that's what happened --

WHITFIELD: So does this kind of exemplify exactly what Oklahoma Republican Tim Cole -- Tom Cole said recently, he said, you know what, there is no loyalty to the party. And is what Gingrich doing exemplifying that he's not loyal to the party, and trying to uphold what the party wants? But instead he's really trying to drive his own personal mission?

GALEN: I think there's some of that in everybody. I mean, it was the same way with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Ms. Clinton stayed in well after the point that she recognized that the numbers still weren't going to work four years ago, that there was no reasonable expectation that she could stop then-Senator Obama. But she stayed in.

But that's what makes people run for president in the first place. I don't think that's a negative. But Newt, to his credit, has said that, if it comes down to it, when Romney gets to 1,144, that he will support Romney, or whoever the nominee is. And I take him at his word.

WHITFIELD: Was that -- do you think that was the promise that was made in that private meeting between Gingrich and Romney in Louisiana, that, you know, here's the reality, I will ultimately support you? Do you think it was --

GALEN: I have no idea. But I don't think they like each other very much. But I think Newt has worked very hard his whole -- his whole life. I met him in 1982, and he spent the next 12 years crafting a way to -- crafting a way to take control of the House of Representatives. He did it.

So I mean he did that on behalf of the Republican Party. And he did it because he was Newt Gingrich and he thought he was the only one that could do it. And I think, back in those days, he was right about that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rich Galen, thanks so much. Very fascinating discussion. Appreciate that and appreciate your attempt at getting into Newt Gingrich's head, to a degree. Appreciate it.

GALEN: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rick Santorum sys he's the only true conservative running for president. He compares himself to Ronald Reagan. When the CNN contenders --

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN brings you politics each Sunday during this hour. We're bringing you the 2012 presidential contenders, in their own words. So a CNN/ORC survey shows a majority of Republicans want Santorum to stay in the race as the conservative alternative to Romney. In a speech Thursday, Santorum touted his conservative values by comparing himself to Ronald Reagan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTORUM, R-PA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The existential threat to western civilization is now radical Islam. And I'm not afraid to call it what it is.

(APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: Ronald Reagan had the courage to stand up and counter to all of his advisers, and call the evil empire the evil empire. We need to call radical Islam, and the radical theocracy in Iran exactly what it is, evil, and that evil regime must be replaced by the Iranian people with a government that reflects the values of the Persian people. (APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: There's one candidate in this race who has, just like Reagan, dedicated a tremendous amount of their time and energy -- when I left the United States Senate, I spent five years in a think tank, traveling all over the country, and even some places around the world, lecturing on this issue, as Reagan did, giving speeches about the threat of communism.

I was giving speeches even in an election where it was unpopular to do in 2006 about the threats of radical Islam, their growth not just in the Islamic world in the Middle East, but here in this hemisphere, in Central and South America. These are not popular things to say.

As Reagan was called, I was called a warmonger and a gloom and doom, that we can negotiate, that we can work with these people and figure this all out. Reagan knew that wasn't possible. You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to defeat evil.

(APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: I'm the only person in this race that brings that legacy of strong principled conviction on this issue, a depth of understanding, experience. We've seen what it is when you have a president with on- the-job training on national security.

We need someone who understands and is principled about the approach he's going to take, and that every foreign leader, friend and foe alike, knows that, with Rick Santorum as president of the United States, if you are a friend of the United States, unlike this president, we will be the best ally you have in the world.

And if you are a foe of the United States, and you do not respect the United States and our security interests, you will learn to fear the United States, and your security interests.

(APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: Of all of the failings of this administration, of all of the failings , perhaps the greatest is on national security. And folks, that's saying something. This president has alienated ally after ally, isolated them, particularly, of course, the state of Israel. They've encouraged our foes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Voters in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia go to the polls in just about 40 hours or so from now. We look ahead to Tuesday's primaries and beyond when we come right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right. We continue to delve into the issues on the presidential campaign. Every Sunday we're spending this hour of the CNN NEWSROOM to allow you to hear from the contenders as they spell out their vision for the future of the United States. All right. Looking ahead, after Tuesday's primaries, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island vote later on this month. Pennsylvania is Santorum's home state. He is the former U.S. Senator.

Alex Castellanos joins me again from Washington. OK. So every primary, we talk about taking that momentum to the next race. This time it's Romney who doesn't really come off a win in Louisiana, but he gets big Republican endorsements. Are those endorsements kind of giving Romney momentum that primary wins haven't?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I'm not sure they're giving him momentum. But they are -- they are kind of drawing a noose around the race. So when you see the establishment moving like this, it's sending a signal to voters that we need to focus on the general election, not so much the primary.

And in that sense, I do think it helps Romney. But usually these kind of endorsements don't really transfer votes. You can -- you know, very famously John Connolly ran for president once and got all the endorsements in the world, ended up with one delegate at the convention.

WHITFIELD: Then what's the point of having them, getting them, valuing them?

CASTELLANOS: In political terms, in marketing terms, you kind of call it permission to believe. It either -- it either cracks open the door -- well, maybe if this fellow -- he thinks like I do, if he looks at that candidate, maybe I should look at it, too.

Or it validates your choice. Well, I feel comfortable supporting this candidate. But today, there's so much information available to voters about these candidates themselves -- they're on TV all the time, you can read about them anywhere, anytime. The voters have so much direct information that the endorsement of others isn't really determinative.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder if, in a roundabout way, it also sends a message that some of these endorsements are coming so late in the game, or is it kind of late in the game?

CASTELLANOS: It is kind of late in the game. It's kind of -- everybody's on board. You might as well get on board, too. And so that's what's happening here, I think. It is, I think, you mentioned earlier, resignation is the feeling with some of these Republicans.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

CASTELLANOS: But, you know, in a way --

WHITFIELD: Kind of like throwing in the towel?

CASTELLANOS: Not throwing in the towel. But you know, Mitt Romney is not the passionate soul of the Republican Party. But in a way that's going to be good for him in a general election, because you don't want this general election, if you're a Republican, to be about how far right can the Republican Party go. You want it to be a referendum on Barack Obama's economy.

And Romney, it may be hard to love, he's also very hard to hate. He's going to be a very strong general election candidate.

WHITFIELD: Well, and he is likely to do well, Romney, likely to do well in Connecticut, Delaware, New York. And you already mentioned that it could be kind of tight with Pennsylvania. So that will kind of lock it in for him, so to speak?

CASTELLANOS: I think so. I think we're getting to the point where these candidates, Santorum and Gingrich, are like the appendix in your body. They're not a vital organ. They're there for some reason, we just don't know why.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and you know it when something goes wrong, however. All right. Alex, all right, thanks so much. Of course we'll be seeing you Tuesday with the rest of the CNN political team. Tune in for complete coverage of the Wisconsin, Maryland and D.C. primaries, that's Tuesday night, 7 o'clock Eastern time.

All right. We're covering the news of the day at the top of the hour as well, including the story of Army specialist Dennis Weichel. He died in Afghanistan saving the life of a little girl. More on his life and his mission coming up at 5 o'clock Eastern time.

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WHITFIELD: All right. During each campaign, candidates make comments targeting their opponents. But once the dust is settled, politicians shake hands and then they change their tune. Our Candy Crowley has this week's "Trail Mix."

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: Fred, sometime around the turn of the 20th century, a "Chicago Post" editorial writer penned himself into campaign immortality. "Politics," he wrote, "ain't being bagged." True that.

SANTORUM: Pick any other Republican in the country. He is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama.

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think you're going to replace an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You characterized Mitt Romney earlier as a liar.

GINGRICH: No, I was asked did I think he's a liar, I said yes.

CROWLEY: Hard to imagine they are in the same party. Hard to imagine they could even talk civilly to each other, but in fact, this week, we found out they already have.

GINGRICH: If Santorum is the nominee, I will support him, Mitt Romney will support him. If Romney is the nominee, Santorum and I will support him. If I end up being the nominee, both Romney and Santorum will support me. CROWLEY: Which is to say, when they put down the brickbats, Romney, Gingrich and Santorum will join in the time-honored political tradition of the "walk back."

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH: Let me just give you a difference that I have with Governor Reagan on taxes. It is what I call a voodoo economic policy.

CROWLEY: Turns out Ronald Reagan won in 1980 and put Bush on the ticket, and there Bush, finding himself as vice president, defending Reaganomics, AKA voodoo economics.

BUSH: Voodoo economics, the only memorable thing I've ever said and I've regretted --

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: -- I've regretted saying it.

CROWLEY: Not so long ago, the presidential campaign of Barack Obama distributed a memo attacking his main opponent. The headline: "HILLARY CLINTON (D-PUNJAB)'S, PERSONAL FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL TIES TO INDIA.

That was an insta-walk back. Within days Obama called it, quote, "a mistake." The Obama and Clinton camps seethed with animosity for much of the two-year campaigns. There were whispers of sexism from her supporters; Obama fans came close to calling her tactics racist.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have known Hillary Clinton as a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel and a tough campaign opponent. She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and a remarkable work ethic. I am proud that she will be our next secretary of state.

CROWLEY: The rest is history. Some of these relationships actually ended in real friendships, but all of them began as bottom-line politics.

GINGRICH: We want to make sure that however this thing comes out in the end, that the Republican nominee defeats Barack Obama. And I think that's the essence of the conversations we've had.

CROWLEY: So in the end, do not bet on Republican reconciliation, count on it. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Candy.

And be sure to watch Candy Crowley every Sunday morning. She's the host of "STATE OF THE UNION," 9:00 am Eastern time.

All right. After years of being under house arrest, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi wins a seat in Myanmar's parliament. We're following elections around the world in the next hour of your CNN NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Here's a look at where the 2012 contenders will be this week. Mitt Romney will be in Wisconsin on Monday and Tuesday. Rick Santorum remains in Wisconsin tomorrow then travels to Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Newt Gingrich will travel to Maryland, then North Carolina and Ron Paul will be in California Wednesday through Friday.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this special hour of politics. Join us every Sunday at 4 o'clock Eastern time.

Now stay right here for the latest news, right here in the NEWSROOM.