>> what do you say to those republicans who say that you are spending way too much time talking about divisive cultural issues, that they don't want to get into a culture war, and if you're a nominee, this would doom you with women voters and in fact with independent voters. you know they're coming from high places in washington. >> the gallup poll said we're leading among women, and we're doing well. people care about families, people care about what's happening to our society. but i do get these questions, as john king tried to do, on contraception and other things that are sort of outrageous types of questions. and then the next question from the reporter is, why are you talking so much about social issues? so they ask, and then they say you're talking about social issues all the time. i understand the game and we're just going to stay on message about what we're going to do to make this country more prosperous, build up a strong foundation for our country which clearly is, as i talked about before, we've got to do something to help strengthen the american family and i'm going to continue to talk about those things. >> senator, thank you very much. you got the microphone here. back to you, anderson. >> john king is on the stage with ron paul. john? >> anderson, to respond, i understand the game as well, and i don't think it's out of bounds to ask a presidential candidate about something they said in a presidential campaign, but that's how the process works. ron paul is with me. at the end of the debate, you said the greatest misconception is that people think maybe you can't win. you are the only candidate in the state who has yet to get a win. came close in maine, but when you look at the arena, arizona and michigan next, wyoming and washington state, then ten states on super tuesday, to prove your point, doesn't congressman paul need to get a win? >> it would be nice, but we haven't finished counting all of the votes in maine yet. when we count up the delegates, i'm in second place, so the delegates is the name of the game. i can expand on this whole thing about the polling. when i'm polled against the democrats and independents, i do better than the rest, and the republican party claims they want somebody to win. you understand why i have appeal to somebody outside of the republican party because the foreign policy is different, i have concern about civil liberty and i'm a fiscal conservative. i have a broad base of appeal. that goes by the way, and i have to fight to get that message out. >> what was your sense tonight from your perspective of the most interesting or significant policy disagreement or confrontation or discussion? >> i think that most disagreement that is clear cut is probably what you were able to point out, three guys here, they say they want to go and fight iran and go into war, and i have a different position, which is very legitimate, very important, important to me. and some people sometimes -- they say, if you change your foreign policy, you might get more support. i say the young people who come to see me, that's their biggest issue, war and spending. i work it in, the war, and spending and overseas, the crisis, and i think that's key. it definitely is a different policy. when i can further explain it, i can show where i am closer to eisenhower. he was restrained, he got rid of the war in korea, he didn't get involved with the troops in veit yaveit -- vietnam, and i remember in '56, he would not fight, go to war over the suez canal. i like him, and he was a military man. i have been in the military, the others haven't. i think in many ways i would follow some of the advice ofizen how urand our founders. >> let me bring you back to the first question, the gentlemen's concern about the debt. there are many who say debt and deficit reduction are different things. 8.7% unemployment, do they say take it easy and go more slowly because if you pull too much money back, it might hurt the economy. you say cut a trillion dollars in the first year. do you worry that could have a negative economic impact? >> no because it's a myth. we're just talking about who should spend the money. when the government spends the money, they take care of their friends. when the people get their trillion dollars back and they spend, they're going to spend it by making economic decisions. after world war ii, the men and women came home. we cut the budget by 60% and we cut taxes by 30% and the depression finally ended, proving my point that the government shouldn't be spending their money, the people should be spending their money. >> you hear a consistent message from ron paul. he is second in delegates as we move on to a more crowded calendar. can he win a state, and we'll know much better on that front in ten days or so. >> consistent was the one word he used to describe himself. i want to bring in some of our other analysts watching the debate with everyone else. david gergen is joining us, who won, who did well? >> this was a showdown between mitt romney and rick santorum. a very significant debate. and mitt romney was the winner by a significant margin. he came in better prepared. he remained on offense, he knew his brief, he was able to go on attack against santorum very, very well. he was a dominant figure in a hall that seemed to be dominated by pro-romney supporters. rick santorum, who has had terrific debates leading up to this, seemed nervous tonight coming out of the gate, and he couldn't quite get into the groove on the economic issues, and in particular, it was interesting how romney and then ron paul managed to make santorum defend himself as a legislator and put himself smack in the middle of congress. i don't think that served him well. and one last question, anderson, i think it did help romney in michigan. it will help him on super tuesday, but did it help him looking toward november? that's a tougher question. there are a lot of women on twitter who believe the candidates really live in the past, they're men who don't understand the women's rights movement, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. >> eric erickson, let's check in. you haven't been a fan of romney all along, do you think he did particularly well tonight? >> between santorum and romney, he did much better. particularly in the first half, santorum found his footing in the second half, but in the first half, he stumbled a lot, he anticipated the attack, and the attacks came. i think romney was very smart to get rick santorum to defend voting for arlen specter, something that won't go over well with tea party groups. but at the same time, i think we saw the same dynamic we saw in florida. when newt gingrich and romney went after each other, santorum and ron paul shined brighter in florida. tonight, i think gingrich shined brighter than the others. he came off as the statesman we haven't seen in a while. he has good lines and brought everything back to barack obama. is it enough for him on super tuesday? probably not, but he may have locked in georgia and tennessee, which is all i think he's expecting on super tuesday. >> to david gergen's point about a women problem, do you agree that was shown on the stage tonight? >> oh, absolutely. i know the republicans would like to make this an issue about religious liberty, but for many women in the country, those currently on birth control and those who have used it in the past, this is about access to reproductive health issues. i think the republicans came off tonight as saying basically a blast from the past. i understand this is a women's health issue and not a religious liberty issue. >> ari, do you think that's how it came off? or do you think there are many who said this is a religious liberty issue? >> no, i think this is one of those republicans are from venus, democrats are from mars and independents are from both, and that's going to be the jump ball of the general election. there are valid arguments on both sides, if you look at this as a birth control matter, you're going to disagree with republicans. if you look at this as a religious freedom matter and government being able to mandate how much you can charge for a product and telling you you have to give it up for free, you're going to look at it from a republican point of view. both sides to have make their arguments to win the campaign. >> hi, anderson. governor, thanks so much for being with us tonight, and thanks for having us in the state of arizona. earlier this evening, you spoke with our colleague john king, who mad ratoderated the debate. you said if you were so inspired, you might actually endorse someone this evening. were you so inspired? >> i was really inspired tonight. i thought this was a fabulous, fabulous debate. so much so that now maybe i'm a little more confused. i thought they all did fabulous. >> now, you have met with each of the candidates, except for ron paul, i gather, and can you share with us anything that they told you to try to tip the balance in their favor? i know you met with mitt romney just before the debate. >> i think, you know, of course, i understand they come in and they want to tell you all about their positives and where they want to go, and they were kerned about the things i was concerned about in trying to make my decision. we discussed a lot of that back and forth, and each and every one of the three that i met with satisfied that in some instances. >> obviously, immigration, a huge issue here, a huge issue for you. is there anything that struck a chord with you this evening because there was a lot of discussion about building a fence, building a double fence, building a wall. strengthening immigration laws. is there any one in particular who you thought made the best case that would sell in the state of arizona to the republican party? >> to be candid, i liked exactly what newt gingrich has said about really working with the governors of those border states. i think that's really, really important, but that doesn't mean that the other candidates won't do that. i think that we hear from all of them that they understand that that is a huge issue for america, and that they need to stand tall and to secure our borders and that we're a nation of laws and we believe in the rule of law. >> thank you so much, governor. and tell us when you're going to endorse. >> i will, thank you. >> we'll be waiting for that. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll play you some of the key moments from the debate in case you missed any of that. we're on facebook, google plus, let me know who you think did well. i'm on twitter right now at anderson cooper. later, we'll pay tribute to a fallen colleague who fell in to syria to expose to assad regime. marie colvin, assassinated. we interviewed her just hours before she was killed. we'll show you her life and legacy. [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan was designed with near-perfect weight balance from front to back... and back to front. ♪ giving you exceptional control from left to right... and right to left. ♪ the cadillac cts. ♪ we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. we're back with special 360 coverage. contentious debate wrapped up. first, some of the pivotal moments from tonight's debate. >> congressman paul, you questioned the fiscal conservative credentials of all of these gentleman, but particularly rick santorum. especially one that labeled him as a fake. why? >> because he's a fake. >> i'm real, ron. i'm real. >> congratulations. >> he's out there on television ads unfortunately attacking me for saying i'm this great earmarker when he not only asked for earmarks for the salt lake olympics in the order of tens of millions of dollars, sought those in the system, and he did it to the governor of massachusetts, $300 or $400 million. >> didn't follow all that, but i would put a ban on earmarks. our gains were successful, but while i was fighting to save the olympics, you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. >> you're misrepresenting the facts. you don't know what you're talking about. what happened in the earmark process, it was that members of congress would ask formally, publicly request these things, put them on paper and have them allocated, have them voted on in the committee, have them voted on in the senate. >> attached to a bill, attached to a bill? >> as part of a bill. >> and the president can veto it? >> he can veto the bill. >> but not the earmark? we tried to do that, by the way. i supported the vetoes. >> since birth control is the latest hot topic, which candidates believe in birth control, and if not, why? it's a very popular question. a very popular question in the audience, as we can see. >> i want to point out, you did not once, in the 2008 campaign, not one ask why barack obama voted in favor of legalize iing- >> you said you personally opposed contraceptives but you said you voted for title ten. but you use that as an argument, saying this is something i did. you didn't say this was something i was opposed to. you said this in a positive light, i voted for title x. >> i think i was making it clear, while i have a personal objection to it, while i don't support it, i voted for bills that included it. and i made it clear that i don't support that, i have never supported it, and on an individual basis, have voted against it. yes, governor, you balanced the budget for four years. you have a constitutional requirement to balance the budget in four years. i would like to see it federally, but don't go around bragging about something you have to do. michael dukakis balanced the budget for ten years. does it make him president of the united states, i don't think so. bringing back our panel, what do you make of newt gingrich's comment about president obama supporting infanticide? >> i don't know if the transcript would support it, but i think there was a case when the mainstream media focused on the republican social vulnerabilities, what they perceive as the questions, and i would be fascinated to go back and see what hardball questions they asked to the democratic candidates to see if it was just as vigorous on their alleged weak points. that was the point newt was making. i thought he was going to give it back to the media, he pulled the punch and let it hang out there. >> i'm a little sad we didn't talk about satan tonight. >> he got points. >> it wasn't enough. the truth is that during the 2008 contest, we had a lot of discussion about these issues on the democratic side. not as much as perhaps republicans like, but remember, in the democratic debates, our base tends to focus on health care, access to all, equality, justice issues. we had a big conversation about the war in iraq and other important national security issues as well. >> if i could jump in on that one, it reminds of something, in 2010, you had a lot of democratic analysts and pundits and reporters even, some of the top echelon in the republican party threatening it was becoming the party of no, and we're seeing this in the contraception issue. it's going to drive women to vote for the democrats. you have reporters, the top of the republicans fretting about it. in 2010, the party no didn't hurt the republicans. i'm not sure that the contraception issue 11 months from now, ten months from now is going to hurt the party. >> i think it could. these are issues that are important to women, and women don't forget these things. i thought, however, that santorum handled it well tonight, because when he was asked about it, you know, he said just because i'm against something doesn't mean that i'm going to legislate against it. which means that he may personally oppose contraception, but it doesn't mean he's going to pass federal legislation that opposes contraception, but i believe if it continues it could become a serious real issue and there already is a gender gap. >> there has been a gender gap for some years and that's because many women have moved into a position of thinking as donna is arguing, this is about reproductive rights. i thought when this argument first started about the church that the republicans were in a very strong position. it did look like the obama administration was forcing the catholic church into taking positions that were contrary to their beliefs. but once obama found his compromise, they have talked about a more general conversation about contraception, and even culture when santorum talked about families, and for a lot of women, it's sounding like four white guys saying this is how we're going to tell you. >> let's play that. >> senator, i just saw a youtube clip of you being interviewed where you said you opposed contraceptives but you said you voted tore -- for title x. you use that as an argument saying this is something i did. you didn't say this is something i was opposed to, something i wouldn't have done. you said this in a positive light, i voted for title x. >> i think i was making it clear that while i have a personal moral objection to it, even though i don't support it, i voted for bills that included it. i made it very clear in subsequent interviews that i don't -- i don't support that. i have never supported it. and on an individual basis, have voted against it. >> this was one of the points that someone on the panel earlier said that romney was able to put santorum squarely in the center of washington politics. >> right, and you know, i think that's a problem for rick santorum because the more that mitt romney makes rick santorum look like an earmarker, like an insider, look like, oh, okay, you supported arlen specter over a true conservative because of the team, the inside washington team, you know, that's trouble for rick santorum, particularly with tea party voters with whom he's strong with right now. >> anderson, any time a candidate in a national debate starts talking about title x, distinguishing that from title xx and trying to defend himself on that, he's got problems. >> there's a reason that governors are more successful, they're chief executives, they haven't cast hundreds if thought thousands of votes, and they don't learn for better or worse when they get to washington, the language where santorum is trying to describe the votes. speaker gingrich tends to avoid this better than most candidates, but even he starts to describe the process, and whether you agree or disagree with the answer, it gets into the washington gobbledy-gook. it's one of the problems that was a problem for dole. >> santorum had excitement and he didn't take advantage of it. it was almost as if he didn't have a strategy coming into tonight. his strategy should have been to make the case that mitt romney is an inauthentic conservative who changes his views and i will always speak from the heart. i'm an authentic conservative. whether you disagree or agree with me, you'll know where i stand. >> when we watch the candidate claw their way up and they finally get there, and they're great, santorum had two terrific debates before this debate. then you get to that middle hot seat, and you're under attack, then they seem to have problems because they're not used to it. >> not newt, newt had another good night tonight. >> but he was not in the center seat. >> i don't think it's going to help newt win any elections, but he had a good night tonight. >> he had a very good night. >> given the volatility on the republican side, i wouldn't be surprised if newt gingrich would find a way back to being a front runner in a couple weeks. >> we have to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll play more of the things that gingrich said, particularly about president obama, i believe he said he's maybe the