now he says this is being planted by democrats because they want to destroy him so newt gingrich can rise. i don't understand that because if you're a democrat and you want to run somebody who has been damaged already in this primary campaign, i would think that herman cain would be somebody, gee, you know, you'd be willing to take on. >> it's not a traditional campaign. so it's hard to apply this happened in a similar situation before, look at the play book or the rule book. do you get the sense the national campaign team says he's not going anywhere. mr. cain says i'll tell you in a few days. iowa campaign team says they've been authorized to spend $80,000 and that's it. do we have a herman cain in the race monday or tuesday? >> i'm not so sure. i don't think first of all this is not a well-oiled machine here. this is a candidate whose attorney has been saying one thing, the candidate himself has been saying something else, the staff says something else. this is a decision that hasn't been made yet. i think herman cain has to wait and see how the money comes in. i think he's got to

mitt romney and newt gingrich. listen to what romney is now saying about newt gingrich. >> he and i have very different backgrounds. he spent his last 30 or 40 years in washington. i spent my career in the private sector. he's a lifelong politician. i think you have to have the credibility of understanding how the economy works. and i do and that's one reason i'm in this race. >> he spent 30 or 40 years in washington. he's a lifelong politician. on the other hand, mitt romney's a business person. the gloves are a little bit beginning to come off. >> it's about time. look, this is supposed to be a change election. all the issues will boil down to the economy and so, mitt romney has to offer that contrast and it is an absolute joke for newt gingrich to stand here and talk about he's an outsider when he is an ultimate insider. this whole deal with all his institutes and these organizations, he's trading on the level of influence in the nation's capitol, so it's smart for romney to go after him aggressively. >> you use

newt gingrich is appearing at a pizza place in iowa. >> okay. we're a little suspicious of this one because you know, you read about it. it sounds like an attempt to move in on herman cain's turf. godfather's pizza. turns out this pizza party in iowa has zero to do with godfathers. actually at a place called pizza king and they're calling it a slice the deficit party, which sounds like something ron paul -- ron paul might be interested in that, right? doesn't sound like they tried to do anything special with the theme, if you will. our producer did some snooping around, called him up and checked and he says they don't even have a specially named pizza for tonight's event. >> if craig was hoping he would get the goods, he tried. we appreciate it, but no dice. no dice. >> no. >> go ahead. >> even -- if newt gingrich had spin doctors working on this, they would have something like thin crust pizza you call it no waste, fraud and abuse pizza. >> thank you so much and now to wolf blitzer. you're situation room starts you. >>> it's a huge day on wall

go after newt gingrich. he's going after newt gingrich who now, together with mitt romney, they are the two front-runners for the presidential nomination. some are suggesting that it's a two-man race. gingrich and more herman cain support if in fact herman cain drops out. and we're now beginning to see mitt romney suggesting, you know what, he's a businessman, spent his whole life in the private sector except for four years in massachusetts but gingrich has been in washington for 30 years. he's a washington insider and he's beginning to make those kinds of cracks, accusations, so it's beginning to show the heat from newt gingrich. this could get tough over the next four or five weeks and the battle between newt gingrich. >>> coming up in "the situation room" we'll see what is going on. wolf, thank you. >>> coming up next, the first civil lawsuit has been filed in the former penn state assistant football coach, jerry sandusky. the alleged victim says sandusky abused him more than 100 times. we'll tell you who

you wouldn't expect many people to be talking about newt gingrich. they wanted to know more about him. is he different? has he changed? is he someone we could seriously look at? newt gingrich himself has told me and others, he may not survive the next few weeks of vetting, but if he does, he has emerged as a powerful and potentially upset rival to mitt romney. he's getting a lot of -- there's some excitement about him and mitt romney needs to bring some of that magnetism back to his own campaign. look at the polls, what we've seen here in the last few days. newt gingrich has now moved ahead in iowa. he is second in new hampshire. he surged in new hampshire. second to romney. he has opened up a lead in south carolina of some 15 points. there's a poll out of florida today, these are early, poll out of florida today shows newt gingrich up by 24 in florida. if he were to sweep all those states except new hampshire, he'd be hard to beat. this may not last. as we've seen, it's mercurial in republican primaries. there's something going on that we can recogn

>> i think among the contenders, you have to think that newt gingrich will benefit from this. a lot of voters say i'm off the herman cain train. >> thank you very much. good seeing you. >> great to see you. >>> the nation's best selling drug is about to get a lot cheaper starting today. how you can cash in on lipitor losing its patent protection. we'll go to new york stock exchange for details and an update on the markets that are set to surge this morning. they're going to open at the bottom of the hour. we'll keep watching that. >>> growing a stash and raise some dough. now, it's time to shave. the hairy top lips go away today. we'll tell you why, next. neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a.

this week we wanted to focus a little on newt gingrich. we're hearing a lot more about the former house speaker's plan as he emerges at the front-runner in some polls. his plan includes those three points we mentioned but what else? scrap a state and capital gains taxes completely. he wants to extend the bush tax cuts and he wants to give voters the option, the option, for a 15% flat tax on income. you remember, rick perry had something similar. 20% optional flat tax on income. also he wants to balance the budget. he wants to break up fannie mae and freddie mac, it's a little controversial. remember, gingrich has taken a lot of heat over the money. more than $1.5 million he earned, or his company earned from consulting work with freddie mac. reform the federal reserve and limit power and switch to something called the lean six sigma to manage our government. what's that? a cult business management technique useed by many fortune 500 companies. it would mean in the government cutting the fat, firing underfiring employee, seeking to strict b

let's just talk a little bit about newt gingrich because newt gingrich seemed to be the guy that's benefiting from cain's problems. but will that last? >> well, he is certainly becoming the alternative to mitt romney at the right time. we're now five weeks away from the voting beginning in iowa with the caucuses. and this is the time if you are going to surge to the head of the pack that you want to do it. some polls show sort of the cain support, if cain were to drop out of the race, you're right, that gingrich would certainly benefit from that, but there is some romney supporters there, too, who will end up going with mitt romney. newt gingrich, though, right now has emerged as the viable alternative to mitt romney as this race heads into the voting season. and it's unclear if that, too, will be a flavor of the month or if he'll be able to sustain that. i have a sense that what he's going to have to prove here first is that he can withstand withering attacks from the romney campaign. the one thing that every other rick perry, michele bachmann, herman cain, the others we saw rise to the top,

gingrich. let me tell you something, i think it would be a real tragedy for our country if we have a new standard for minority conservatives or for women conservatives whose characters get shredded by the establishment media, who the character assassination is relentless, and now you have a new standard. there's no dna on a blue dress here. there's no love child out of wedlock here. all right? there's no charge of sexual assault that's in the books here. >> let me jump in, niger! let me put to you one thing. you know herman cain better than i do, better than a lot of people. >> i saw him in weekend. >> okay. and i've interviewed him once. so you're ahead of the game on me. on his character and the kind of man he is. this woman says they had a 13-year affair. are you 100% confident, you, his close friend, his adviser, are you 100% confident that she's simply inventing a 13-year affair? >> pier, i'm not 100% confident that when i walk out of this building that i'm not going to get struck by light

gingrich is, newt gingrich probably does know who the president of uzbekistan is. at least newt gingrich read his briefing books and we know when he sits at the table, he is ready to play. >> thanks to all three. we appreciate you taking the time. >>> "outfront" next, american airlines files for bankruptcy. they don't have showers on their planes. i'll explain. >>> a crowd of protesters storms the embassy in tehran. after iran's parliament voted to expel the british ambassador. >>> and the latest from the syracuse molestation scandal. the police chief admits his force failed to follow up on tips of abuse they got nine years ago. [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. pri

the latest cnn/orc poll has him at 17% behind mitt romney and front-runner newt gingrich. in a moment we'll talk to the ed buckley, the attorney for ginger white, who says she had the long-running affair with cain. but first tom foreman at how he got to this point. >> love ya! >> reporter: a tea party favorite, herman cain was a little known longshot for most voters when he entered the race. a former head of godfather's pizza, a radio host, and previously unsuccessful candidate. >> herman cain. >> reporter: then the debates began, and suddenly his wit and simple approach to complex issues like reworking the tax code had everyone talking. >> 9-9-9. >> reporter: in october, cain's poll numbers rocketed past perry, gingrich, paul, bachmann, nearly overtaking romney, but then came the stumbles on the occupy wall street movement. >> i don't have facts to back this up, but i happen to believe the demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the obama administration. >> reporter: on planned parenthood -- >> planned parenthood was trying to p

gingrich is, newt gingrich probably does know who the president of uzbekistan is. at least newt gingrich read his briefing books and we know when he sits at the table, he is ready to play. >> thanks to all three. we appreciate you taking the time. >>> "outfront" next, american airlines files for bankruptcy. they don't have showers on their planes. i'll explain. >>> a crowd of protesters storms the embassy in tehran. after iran's parliament voted to expel the british ambassador. >>> and the latest from the syracuse molestation scandal. the police chief admits his force failed to follow up on tips of abuse they got nine years ago. nice, huh? yeah. you know what else is nice is all the savings you can get on cruze and traverse over there. oh! that's my beard. [ chuckles ] it's amazing. ♪ [ male announcer ] this holiday, chevy's giving more. now very well qualified lessees can sign and drive a 2012 cruze ls for around $199 a month. ♪ constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for e

gingrich. let me tell you something, i think it would be a real tragedy for our country if we have a new standard for minority conser conservatives or for women conservatives whose characters get shredded by the establishment media, who the character assassination is relentless, and now you have a new standard. there's no dna on a blue dress here. there's no love child out of wedlock here. all right? there's no charge of sexual assault that's in the books here. >> let me jump in, niger! let me put to you one thing. you know herman cain better than i do, better than a lot of people. >> i saw him in weekend. >> okay. and i've interviewed him once. so you're ahead of the game on me. on his character and the kind of man he is. this woman says they had a 13-year affair. are you 100% confident, you, his close friend, his adviser, are you 100% confident that she's simply inventing a 13-year affair? >> pier, i'm not 100% confident that when i walk out of this building that i'm not going to get struck b

the latest cnn/orc poll has him at 17% behind mitt romney and front-runner newt gingrich. in a moment we'll talk to the attorney for ginger white who said she had the long-running affair with cain. but first tom foreman at how he got to this point. >> love ya! >> reporter: a tea party favorite, herman cain was a little known longshot for most voters when he entered the race. a former owner of godfather's pete za, a radio host and previously unsuccessful candidate, then the debates began and suddenly his wit and simple approach to complex issues like reworking the tax code had everyone talking. >> 9-9-9. >> reporter: in october, cain's poll numbers rocketed past perry, gingrich, paul, bachmann, nearly overtaking romney, but then came the stumbles on the occupy wall street movement. >> i don't have facts to back this up but i happen to believe the policy of the obama administration. >> reporter: on planned parenthood. >> planned parenthood was trying to put all these centers into the black communities because they wanted to kill black babies before they were born. >> yes. >>

gingrich is, newt gingrich probably does know who the president of uzbekistan is. we know when he sits at the table, he is ready to play. >> thanks to all three. >>> "outfront" next, american airlines files for bankruptcy. they don't have showers on their planes. i'll explain. >>> a crowd of protesters storms the embassy in tehran. >>> and the latest from the syracuse molestation scandal. the police chief admits his force failed to follow up on tips of abuse they got nine years ago. i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for t

newt gingrich says yes. does it matter if someone who crossed illegally has been here 20 days or 20 years, no the to joe arpaio, a national lightning rod in the immigration debate and as of today, a support of governor rick perry. >> what difference does it make? if you're here illegally, you're here illegally. if you don't like it, have the congress or someone in the states change the law, that's all. >> you first reflex is to assume tough talk like that would carry the day in today's republican party. john mccain's talk of a path to citizenship nearly derailed his bid four years ago and the party moved more to the right in the tea party sweep of 2010. is there more of a shift back toward the middle on immigration among the leading republican contenders? on capitol hill tonight, republican congressman brian bilbray of california, and in st. louis, dana loesch. >> congressman, if you have newt gingrich who has gone from nowhere to the top of the national polls saying, not citizenship but legal status for tho

cain votes. >> newt gingrich is well-known. it's the carry on kind of baggage. people know about his past. they know about his mistakes. they know about the scandals he's been involved in and because of that, conservatives who are still looking for an alternative to romney, they might park temporarily in the newt gingrich camp, but i still believe that some of the others may have an opportunity to move up. >> what do you think? >> you had it right on your blog. it's not predictable at this point. what is to be sure, is the bigger the field, the better for romney. worse for him rather. so -- >> his latest developments have been good for gingrich. not so good for romney. but we'll talk about that later. thanks very much. the "cafferty file" is up next, then at the top of the hour, mitt romney secures three key endorsements in one critical state. could he also be securing his front-runner stat or not? with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymba

there's a new poll showing newt gingrich well ahead in that state so florida would be a crucial pickup for governor romney to say in this race and to stay in that front-runner role. and so florida is very key to their hopes at this point, brooke, if they want to win this nomination. >> jim acosta in florida. thank you. >>> she was 16 years of age when she was forced to be a prostitute. now she's a young woman and she wants the rest of us to know what football legend lawrence taylor did to her. >>> plus, new information in the case of the young man who went missing after her appearance on "the people's court." we're on the case. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both y

i think they would probably end up going to newt gingrich. the tea party supporters have gone from bachmann to perry to cain and now it looks like they are headed to newt gingrich. he's leading in iowa and has a lot of momentum behind him. it looks like he's the one that will take on mitt romney. herman cain seems to be caught in political quick sand and there's no way out for him. >> liz, what do you think? >> i couldn't agree more. i mean, what's really fascinating about the republican primary season this year, there is a large chunk of the republican party, republican base, that just can't find a candidate. first bachmann, then perry, now cain now we're gingrich. it's fascinating and we're only about 35 days out from the iowa caucus and nobody knows what will happen. i do think herman cain's roller coaster ride is coming to an end. >> one of things they are say they are reassessing during next few days, they'll look at fundraising. after the first allegations came out, he brought in a lot of money online and elsewhere to his campaign. do y

newt gingrich says 15%, rick perry says 20% and herman cain says 9%. a flat tax hurts the middle income spectrum more than anything else because if you take a flat tax, a 20% flat tax, 4% tax hurts you more than a $20,000 tax of somebody making $100,000 a year. right now there are a lot of exemptions and tax credits for people who are at the lower end of the income spectrum. if they lost those, a flat tax would hurt them more. >> all right. christine, thank you. i want to go to wolf blitzer who has some new information coming out of the herman cain campaign. wolf, what do we know here? >> what we know is that the republican presidential candidates, suzanne, had a conference call with senior staff. a lot of people were on that conference call, and during the course of that conference call, he said he was going to reassess his position right now in the republican race for the white house. not necessarily drop out, but wanted to reassess. he gave a couple earlier examples of where he had reassessed in the past. after the iowa straw poll, michele bachmann

it may as well be newt gingrich. the reason this puts him in the crosshairs, though, he says he's more conservative than mitt romney, and that requires a very close examination of his own record, and there is a question whether he's more conservative. newt gingrich supported t.a.r.p., he supported freddie mac. whether he lobbied or not, we know he got paid a million dollars by them. so is he as conservative as mitt romney? who knows. we'll go through his record now line by line by line. >> chris? >> i think at this point, newt is doing what he should do, which is dnc has come out with this attack ad questioning mitt romney. and as a result of that, i think what newt is doing is starting to pile on. and i think actually that that is a smart strategy. now, to the question as to whether or not he is more conservative than mitt romney, i think the answer to that is probably yes. however, the caveat is it depends on which mitt romney we're talking about, which is why a lot of conservatives, myself included, actually don't

and newt gingrich was really the political winner from his last problems, and so we'll see. does this launch gingrich even further ahead in the polls in states like south carolina, where cain's actually still doing very well. >> isn't that ironic? tara, ironic a guy overcame questions about how faithful he was in this marriage, now benefitting from a guy having questions about how faithful he was in his marriage? >> yeah you know, look, this is -- i don't think, though, that this is anything any of the candidates really want to be focused on. what cain doesn't want to be focused on or the candidates want to be focused on. they want to be focused on what their spiel is, if you will. had cain though, to karen's point -- i think what he did yesterday is something he should have done early on. had he done that a lot sooner, early on when many of these allegations started, he'd probably be in a better position. he does still supporters. iowa will be the telling point. he's invested a lot of time and energy and at that point will have to made hard decisions. he probably will. he's

i think cain might be faced with those same claims. >> not only that, nia, newt gingrich's -- that was in his distant past. if this woman's story is true, this cain accuser is true, this affair only ended eight months ago. doesn't that make a difference? >> i think it might make a difference. i think also what will make a difference is that gingrich has been talking about this. he gave an interview to the christian broadcasting network about three, four, five months ago about this, saying he's sorry. he's been talking about hills faith, something that has resonated with these voters and seemingly they may have forgiven him. obviously cain has not really done that. he's pretty much said none of this has ever happened, from the sexual allegations to this recent allegation of having an inappropriate relationship outside of his marriage. but we'll just have to say. he's going to plug along again. i think he can stay in this thing. he'll obviously probably be in every daeb bate. he's got until january 3rd to limp along in this thing. and we'll just have to see. >> nia-malika henderson from

in terms of newt gingrich, he's billing himself now as the conservative candidate, clearly playing on this sense that mitt romney isn't a proper conservative. who do you think right now barack obama would least want to face? >> i think, frankly, that obama's biggest opponent is the economy. i think he's blessed in all these potential opponents. we all know about gingrich's deficiencies, his going off on halfcocked theories. his temper, his ego, his snide demeanor which has been evident in these debates not to mention the hypocrisies of fannie mae and all the money he's collected, all that. but who is the prize here? the problem with romney, he would seem to be the ideal republican candidate. he looks like a republican candidate for president. he's a moderate conservative, i guess, to the extent that we know what he really stands for, but the problem with romney for the republican party is less his ideology and the fact that people just don't like him. i think that's really the problem. and your own party doesn't like you either because they think you're a flip flopper, they think you'

newt gingrich has been open about he's had affairs. >> that's right. and given enough time he can transcend them. >> this isn't just smoke in a fire, this is a forest fire. and this is a sad side show at this point. herman cain was going down in the polls. this won't help him with anybody. his numbers will continue to implode among women and evangelicals in particular. this is sort of sad. this isn't an allegation of harassment. this is a deeply personal and it's something he has to work out with his family. >> i want to get each of your views on this. 17% was his rating in the latest poll. where does his support? >> going down. >> who's going to get it? gingrich and evangelicals? >> anything that pushes cain down probably goes to gingrich. >> absolutely. what you'll see is the rise of evangelicals moving over to gingrich. >> paul i would imagine that is something that barack obama likes too, having a go at gingrich, not mitt. >> i would think so. i don't talk to the president about these things or about anything for that matter. but the president -- i

a good example of that is newt gingrich. i mean, he has a long history of issues, if you will. and he's doing very well. a month ago nobody would have imagine head was in the top tier. but that was after basically confessing that he'd had an adulterous relationship, converting to catholicism and taking a whole bunch of other steps to show he's changed. and, you know, those are the options for herman cain, i would say at this stage. >> joe johns, appreciate it, john king, gloria borger. let us know what you think. we're on twitter @andersoncooper. let us know what you think. does this matter to voters? follow us on google plus. up next also on facebook. >>> the sexual abuse allegations rocking syracuse university. associate basketball coach bernie fine has been fired after espn reported in a phone conversation his wife laurie fine had with one of his accusers. we'll play you some of the call ahead. the question is, why didn't the school and the police know about it when it was reported nearly a decade ago. keeping them honest. >>> egypt, anger in the streets and voters heading t

newt gingrich has been open about he's had affairs. >> that's right. and given enough time he can transcend them. >> this isn't just smoke in a fire, this is a forest fire. and this is a sad side show at this point. herman cain was going down in the polls. this won't help him with anybody. his numbers will continue to implode among women and evangelicals in particular. this is sort of sad. this isn't an allegation of harassment. this is a deeply personal and it's something he has to work out with his family. >> i want to get each of your views on this. 17% was his rating in the latest poll. where does his support? >> going down. >> who's going to get it? gingrich and evangelicals? >> anything that pushes cain down probably goes to gingrich. >> absolutely. what you'll see is the rise of evangelicals moving over to gingrich. >> paul i would imagine that is something that barack obama likes too, having a go at gingrich, not mitt. >> i would think so. i don't talk to the president about these things or about anything for that matter. but the president -- i

a good example of that is newt gingrich. i mean, he has a long history of issues, if you will. and he's doing very well. a month ago nobody would have imagine head was in the top tier. but that was after basically confessing that he'd had an adulterous relationship, converting to catholicism and taking a whole bunch of other steps to show he's changed. and, you know, those are the options for herman cain, i would say at this stage. >> joe johns, appreciate it, john king, gloria borger. let us know what you think. we're on twitte twitter @andersoncooper. let us know what you think. does this matter to voters? follow us on google plus. up next also on facebook. >>> the sexual abuse allegations rocking syracuse university. associate basketball coach bernie fine has been fired after espn reported in a phone conversation his wife laurie fine had with one of his accusers. we'll play you some of the call ahead. the question is, why didn't the school and the police know about it when it was reported nearly a decade ago. keeping them honest. >>> egypt, anger in the streets and voters he

a good example of that is newt gingrich. i mean, he has a long history of issues, if you will. and he's doing very well. a month ago nobody would have imagine head was in the top tier. but that was after basically confessing that he'd had an adulterous relationship, converting to kathd ol civil and taking a whole bunch of other step to show he's changed. and those are the options for herman cain, i would say, at this stage. >> joe johns, appreciate it, john king, gloria borger. let us know what you think. we're on twitte twitter @andersoncooper. does this matter to voters? follow us on google plus. up next also on facebook. the sexual abuse allegations rocking syracuse university. associate basketball coach bernie fine has been fired after espn reported in a phone conversation his wife laurie fine had with one of his accusers. we'll play you some of the call ahead. why didn't the school and the police know about it when it was reported nearly a decade ago? keeping them honest. >>> egypt, anger in the streets and voters heading to the polls today. what can be done to fix this me

newt gingrich has been open about he's had affairs. >> that's right. and given enough time he can transcend them. >> this isn't just smoke in a fire, this is a forest fire. herman cain was going down in the polls. this won't help him with anybody. his numbers will continue to implode among women and evangelicals in particular. this is sort of sad. this isn't an allegation of harassment. this is a deeply personal and it's not -- >> i want to get each of your views on this. 17% was his rating in the latest poll. where does his support? go. >> going down. gingrich has the momentum to be the conservative alternative for mitt romney. anything that pushes cain down probably goes to gingrich. >> absolutely. what you'll see is the rise of evangelicals moving over to gingrich. >> paul i would imagine that is something that barack obama likes too, having a go at gingrich, not mitt. >> i would think so. i don't talk to the president about anything for that matter, but the president -- i mean the democrats want the most extreme candidate to be nominated. and you k

newt gingrich, and you're in a very good place to evaluate how this will play out. it certainly is distracting. but fits a completely unfair assault, then who knows how people will respond in a fair-mined electorate. >> to that point, i'm in south carolina which votes third. 54 days from now. this is a state that herman cain had hoped to do well in. if you talk to activists, they say he was struggling a bit. we've talked in recent weeks about the struggles of the campaign on some of the issues in the debates. on some of the sexual harassment debates. can a campaign that needs to be near perfect, because he is an outsider, he doesn't have the infrastructure, survive something like this? >> i'm not sure whether it can. listening to his conversation with wolf, unlike the last time where they came out and made their defense without knowing all the facts, the problem is that his lawyer has released the statement. i just got a copy of it a few minutes ago and it says this is not an accusation of an assault. this is a private alleged consensual conduct. this is outside the

>> newt gingrich might just have it, timing. just as former house speaker surges in the hol polls he is also getting key endorsements. for starters the new hampshire editorial leader is backing gingrich. they say he has improved washington before and in this race he has the best shot of doing it again. this conservative stamp of approval can do a long way in helping gingrich, especially at a time when many conservatives are taking aim on his stand with immigration. >>> sarah palin, remember letter? she could throw her supported behind gingrich as well. one suggest, atds to palin, say gingrich is the most likely to score her endorsement. and it is not just conservatives who have nice things to say about newt gingrich. former president clinton praises gingrich in an interview with a website news max. calling gingrich articulate. saying he tries to think of an idea that will solve a legitimate problem. that's a clinton quote. he suggests that it will make independent voters take a hard look at him. all of this has to be keeping mit

an important night for newt gingrich. a town hall meeting, trying to tell conservatives in this conservative state, look at me. i know you were talking earlier, this is a first television interview he will do since getting the union leader endorsement in new hampshire. he's trying to build momentum. >> talk about the significance of the "union leader" endorsement. why is that such a big deal? >> well, it's important because it's a statewide newspaper, the leading conservative editorial voice in the state of new hampshire, a newspaper that mitt romney has courted and courted and courted in hopes of getting that endorsement. he's been at it for three, four years courting them. essentially the editorial says on the front page mitt romney will say anything to get our endorsement. newt gingrich may not be perfect, but we think he success a good candidate. when with the union leader gives you the endorsement, it's not just one day. it's usually over and over again. new hampshire votes second, after iowa. romney is way ahead rig

does newt gingrich scare the obama administration? >> the anyone but romney narrative is actually one you are seeing taking place through the republican primary right now. you've had a different front-runner every month and you've got a new one in november. we could have a new one in december all together. as to who obama wants to run against? i think he has a strong record to stand on and we're willing to -- democrats are willing to stand on what we believe and what we're fighting for for the rest of the year no matter hot nominee is. the problem here is that if romney has made new hampshire his fire dull wawall and is not the endorsement of the daily paper, that's a problem. because the people who know him best are the ones who have a problem with him. not a good sign six weeks away from the first primary. >> you read the endorsement, let's take a listen to the paper's editorial page editor. it is not exactly a ringing endorsement. take a listen. >> we consider the candidate overall. i mean we don't just look at the poll numbers. th

. >>> newt gingrich surging in popularity now. i'll tell you about the endorsement that he got in new hampshire that could be bad news for the romney campaign. oup. >>> after 16 terms in the house, barney frank says he's not going to be seeking re-election. live from the political desk in washington to talk about this and more. joe, obviously the conservatives, they're not losing any sleep over this. he was an enemy of the conservatives. what does this mean? he is a larger than life political figure? >> he certainly is. you and i know, suzanne, he is the frank of dodd-frank which is that banking reform bill that republicans love to hate. they've been talking about that so much on the campaign trail. a controversial figure. he is expected to announce his retirement today. been in congress for 16 terms. known for all kinds of things. house financial services committee. one of the first openly gay members of congress, among other things. dodd-frank is the kind of bill that people have talked about again and again and again. even the

and now here's newt gingrich today. but my own sense right now is that while he will pay a short-term price, especially in iowa, he clearly has got the momentum, as you suggested. this endorsement from "union leader" in new hampshire was a terrific boost for his campaign. just when he needed it. because he is getting all this attention now. but what the question was, how do you sustain momentum with no debate this week? and here he gets "the union leader", in a state that looked like a laydown for mitt romney. this by no means -- "the union leader" has endorsed conservatives in the past who have not won. so it doesn't guarantee anything. but it does give newt more credibility and more stature, and that's what he's seeking right now. kyra, he has -- he knows -- i have talked to him about this. he knows the next two to three weeks are crucial to his campaign. if he is still standing as a viable alternative after christmas, he will become probably the serious alternative to romney in the campaign, and it could be a real cl

big question, does newt gingrich's campaign have legs? i heard somewhere one in three romney supporters has chosen gingrich as their second choice. so, really, this could be a very big deal, this endorsement, right? in terms of swaying people? >> reporter: it could. a lot of republicans aren't crazy about romney and looking for the anti-romney candidate. at one time is was michele bachmann and then herman cain and also rick perry. the clock is ticking tomorrow. only five weeks until the first contest, the iowa caucuses. not a lot of time for republican voters to make up their minds, alina. >> paul steinhauser live in washington. paul, thank you very much. >>> we have this programming note. stay with us. newt gingrich on "john king usa" live tonight right here on cnn. >>> all right, also new this morning in ohio, three bodies turning up in shallow graves. they may all be the victims of a new craigslist serial killer or killers. police say the victims all answered an ad on craigslist to be a caretaker for a cattle farm. police say three men

. >>> newt gingrich winning a huge new hampshire nod. another boost to his surging campaign over the holiday weekend. >>> skipping the lines and shopping on company time. it's so-called cybermonday on pace for one of the biggest holiday seasons ever. this is your "a.m. wake-up call." and good morning, this is your "a.m. wake-up call" for monday, november 28th from the time warner center in new york city, i'm christine romanss, here are the morning's top stories. the syracuse child sex abuse. the university fired bernie fine. fired him after a new phone conversation surfaced between allegedly the accuser and fine's wife. that conversation revealing that mrs. fine was worried about the sex abuse allegations and also that she had a sexual relationship with the accuser, as well. >>> keeping our eye on occupy wall street, protesters in los angeles facing a deadline to clear out of camp. just two hours ago but many refusing to budge. >>> wreck the malls. black friday was a blockbuster. early numbers are in. this holiday shopping season could b

the same thing they are saying about newt gingrich now. he has already said some of my mistakes will be between me and god and i hope god can forgive me as well as the american people. people want more of that type of demeanor from their politicians than what they are getting with cain. and as long as cain is like that it will be a problem. >> lz, who do you think obama would like to meet in the jerlt election, romney or one of the nonromneys? >> i think he would rather meet one of the nonromneys with the exception of jon huntsman. i have been talking to him since he made his candidacy unknown. if you look at his resume, it is something the president should be fearful of. same thing with romney. both men happen to be mormons and i believe that is why they can't get over the hump. i think clinton is actually playing with the -- >> again rich is a great thing. who said it is not an issue this year? we had an evangelical pastor who issued perry and said that mormonism is an issue this year. >> lz, it doesn't hold much weight because he is in

in this incredibly important election, that candidate is newt gingrich. so how is the track record for "the union leader." take a look. four years ago it was john mccain. i guess they got that one right. mccain won the primary, went on to win the nomination. go back earlier, steve forbes in 2000. patrick buchanan, pierre dupont in 1988. back to 1980, ronald reagan the last time that the newspaper got it right in new hampshire. what about where the latest polls are? look at this, a poll out last week this is still mitt romney's state. this is a suffolk university poll. and romney at over 40% right now in new hampshire among likely primary voters. gingrich starting to gain. he's at 15%. still pretty far back. six weeks to go until the new hampshire primary, fred. >> meantime, herman cain, we said many analysts said that the numbers would change. who is out front, who is at the bottom, all of that would change. so herman cain, he's going the other direction. he's going down now when he was enjoying, you know, riding high on the polls. >> he was. remember, he

but newt gingrich says he wants to get rid of social security. yeah. well, wait a minute, let's think about it. who is more qualified to give this country financial advice than a guy who ran up a half million dollar bill at tiffany's. that's the guy. >> that's david letterman punching some fun at newt gingrich. he has had a big week with the jump in the polls and a key endorsement. chief political correspondent candy crowley wraps it all in this week's game changer. >> give this week to newt gingrich, the latest republican game changer to rise in the polls and today's brass ring recipient. he won the endorsement of the influential conservative newspaper "the new hampshire union leader." the paper praised gingrich for bold, innovative ideas that will help a country in crisis. mitt romney has consistently led the polls in new hampshire, but the editor of the editorial page says romney is too careful a guy, trying to please everyone. >> i don't think we're in the kind of situation right now as a country that that's necessarily the right kind of president

. >>> republican presidential candidate newt gingrich picks up an important endorsement from new hampshire's largest newspaper. today's edition of "the union leader" says the former house speaker is by no means the perfect contender, but calls him the best candidate who is actually running. >>> right now, back to our top story. lori fine, wife of syracuse university associate head basketball coach, bernie fine, may have been aware of her husband's alleged inappropriate acts with children. espn's outside the lines released audio tape given to them by bobby davis, the man who has publicly accused the coach of years of molestation. in the tape mrs. fine says among other things she witnessed one of the acts. espn has independently confirmed the voice on the recording is that of lori fine. here is espn's mark schwartz. first a warning, the piece you're about to see contains graphic sexual content. >> bobby davis says he knew of one person who could validate he was being sexually abused by bernie fine. that person was fine's wife, lori fine. >> hello. >> hello. >> hi, bobby, how are you? >> davis

newt gingrich just earned a big endorsement from new hampshire's largest newspaper, the union leader. they call gingrich the best candidate who is running. new hampshire holds the nation's first primary january 10th. >>> the wife of syracuse coach bernie fine admitted she had concerns her husband had molested a boy in their home. espn reports bobby davis, the alleged victim, recorded a phone call with the coach's wife in 2002, in which she said, quote, i know everything that went on and you have trusted somebody you shouldn't have. end quote. >>> and coming up in a half hour, we'll show you the entire espn report. you'll hear the audio tape with the coach's wife, and i'll talk with the espn reporter that

newt gingrich, 27%. romney, 20%. paul, 16%. on down the line in single digits, cain, bachmann and santorum. moving to new hampshire, romney 33%, gingrich 22%. paul 12%. single digits again, cain, undecided, and huntsman. okay. couple questions. is newt gingrich a serious contender at this point? >> i think the endorsement of "the union leader" makes him a serious threat to mitt romney potentially in new hampshire in ways that he might not have anticipated and we'll see what happens in the polls in the next few weeks. i think in iowa it is easy to say newt's on top but that contest comes first. he has a lot of explaining to do on the immigration question. he has a lot of explaining to do on other issues. support for t.a.r.p. which he then took back. his position on climate change. his position on the ryan medicare plan. a mandate for health care, advanced directives for health care. he has a lot of answering to do in iowa before the counts on the cold january night. iowa could be a muddled picture where there's an anti-mitt romn

but look at this -- >> if anyone's dirty, it's newt gingrich. a man whose personal morality has been drawn from the sewer. >> what explains the lever of vitriol toward newt on the airwaves including from some on the right? the media clearly expected super things from the super committee which turned into a debacle. did news agencies hype the consequences if the panel failed to decrease the debit. >>> he's one of most popular bloggers in cyber-space. can he still call himself a conservative? our conversation with andrew sullivan. >> especially during the iraq war to have made such a massive blunder and be forced to hold myself to account for it and have my readers do so and stick with me, that was a very maturing experience. >> plus, the "huffington post" expands to canada. so what's up with the canadian woman who's running it, eh? we'll meet her. i'm howard kurtz, and this is "reliable sources." >>> in an increasingly shrill media environment, running for president means being attacked, assailed, mocked, ridiculed, bashed, and otherwise denigrat

newt gingrich, 27%. romney, 20%. paul, 16%. on down the line in single digits, cain, bachmann and santorum. moving to new hampshire, romney 33%, gingrich 22%. paul 12%. single digits again, cain, undecided and huntsman. okay. couple questions. is newt gingrich a serious contender at this point? >> i think the endorsement of "the union leader" makes him a serious threat to mitt romney potentially in new hampshire in ways that he might not have anticipated and we'll see what happens in the polls in the next few weeks. i think in iowa it is easy to say newt's on top but that contest comes first. he has a lot of explaining to do on the immigration question. he has a lot of explaining to do on other issues. support for t.a.r.p. which he then took back. his position on climate change. his position on the ryan medicare plan. a mandate for health care. advanced directives for health care. he has a lot of answering to do in iowa before those caucuses are counted -- the votes are counted on a cold january 3rd night and i think that ultim