Transcripts For CNNW Erin Burnett OutFront 20120121 : vimars

CNNW Erin Burnett OutFront January 21, 2012



a war. and the latest from a cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of italy. let's go outfront. >> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett, and outfront tonight, we're live in charleston, south carolina. tonight, newt gingrich whose performance in tomorrow's primary election here will make or break his run at the presidency. no doubt, he's surging in the polls. you look that left right and center. the latest show him in striking distance of mitt romney. he's also ignited the fire storm, slamming the media of his ex-wife's accusation he wanted an open marriage. >> the destructive, vicious, negative media of much of the news media makes it harder to govern the country, harder to attract decent people to run forophilfor office, and rm i'm appalled you would open a presidential debate with a topic like that. >> i caught up with newt gingrich today, about an hour and a half away from here, in a town called orangeburg, south carolina, to talk about the race, the issues, and yes, his private life. >> do you feel the momentum has changed for you over the past two days? >> i think it really began to change dramatically after monday night in myrtle beach. you could go back home, georgia, and i feel pretty good campaigning in south carolina. we're getting a good, positive response. monday night seemed to galvanize people, and then sarah palin said she would vote for me, and now michael reagan and chuck norris. at every stage, you have this continuing acceleration, if you will. >> i was at a denny's today talking to a lot of people and asking if they had seen the debate. they saw it last night. and they were, a lot of them had changed their minds. romney supporters saying now we're going for newt. and the reason was because of the beginning of the debate and how you responded to john kieng's question about your ex-wife. did you expect that question right off the top? >> i sort of had a hunch that that would happen because i thought they couldn't contain themselves. and i felt that they -- they would think it was clever. but i think there's something going on here that is very deep. part of it is a really deep dislike of the media, and a level that nobody in the media wants to think about yet because this has happened five times, six times now in these debates. the other, though, is people want to leader who is forceful and knows what they think and has the guts to stand there and say it. part of it is if i had said the color is blue, it's the forcefulness because they know we're in trouble as a country, at least our side of the country, republicans, tea parties, independents, we think the country is in trouble, so they're looking for a leader that has a forcefulness and clarity, and i think that delivery of that clearness is as important as a specific topic. >> it was interesting, you know, i was talking to the daughter, she had been very intent to mitt romney before, and she switched to you, and it was because of the topic. she said we all have skeletons in our closet. i talked to arth women and she said, i have been divorced, too, and i wouldn't want someone to bring that up. do you think it's allowed you to connect to people in a more human way? >> it has. i think people are a lot smarter than our analysts believe they are, and they lead to complete lies and they go around and say, that's not true. and there's a kind of judgment there that is real, in addition, i had a pastor who said to me, you know, in some ways having somebody who had pain in their life is really helpful. somebody whose life has been so perfect they don't understand pain, it's hard for them to understand what the rest of us go through. and it was a very interesting way of thinking about it. i have had people come up to me all day today and say they were glad i responded so harshly, that i was so clear about it. some people have written those close to me and said they were embarrassed for the country that that kind of thing was brought to us. a number of people said wi were in their prayers. it's an interesting human response. >> i heard that, too. people also, though, do seem to feel that the question of morality effects someone's personal life as well as their proeflg li professional life. i spoke to tim at denny's. he said if you're going to be the president, you have to be of high moral character because you're representing the country, the most important person in the country. he said, you know, his marital past is not the most important thing, but it will be a deciding factor. don't you think it's fair that the morality question comes up? >> of course. but it's -- i don't believe anybody is going to go to work tomorrow and didn't know i had been divorced. it's all been out here for eight months. and there's a sense of why would abc news bring it up now? why would they get into it now? and why would they do it the way this did it? that's why people were saying that was taken over the line. you should measure, whether it's romney or santorum orron paul or obama. all of us, if we're seeking to have you loan us the most powerful assets in the world, we should be able to have a conversation that is detailed and open. i don't object to that. >> when people say, if someone would be unfaithful in their personal life or dishonest in their personal life, they might be dishonest as a business leader. you said, i have been dishonest. you were honest about that. >> look who i am now and how close calista and i are as a cuptle, how close i am to my daughters and son-in-laws and not 15, 20 years ago, but is this now a person experienced enough and wise enough and with enough force of perment that i think he could get america back on track? >> you could be the front runner, win tomorrow in florida, right? >> yeah. >> the way it's going. >> it's been like this, so who knows. >> you come into a general election, all these issues become -- they're going to be looked at again. i looked at presidential history. we have never had a president who has been married three times. one in 20 americans have been married more than twice. when you get to an election, you're against barack obama, a stereo typical family guy. do you think that's going to be an issue where people say, do i connect with him? do i have a lot in common with newt gingrich? >> no, i think the country is in so much trouble. somebody said to me the other week, if you have a serious illness, what you really want to know is not what kind of car does the doctor drive or if he's a good doctor. i think barack obama is radical and not very competent, and people see that. he's likable. i would never beat obama in a personality contest. i wouldn't try. he's a very likable person. but the presidency is not about likability. it's about, are you capable of doing the job? are you capable of helping get jobs, are you capable of being that man. on the issue of capability, i think he has an enormous burden to carry. >> you mentioned sarah palin before the interview and her endorsement and you mentioned her the other day, that you would consider her for a position. have you thought more about that? i saw that, i said, wait a minute, what is he saying? >> i suggest there's a movie that was made about her. i think it was called "beyond defeated." it's a very interested document. when you go back and look at her career as mayor and on the ethics commission where she forced the republican state senator to resign and the campaign against the incomitant governor and the amount she cleaned up the state and how effective she was negotiating with big oil, she has great capability if she wants to do it. she would be somebody you would consider as a talent in a variety of possible positions. but that's, i have to finish winning a nomination, then you have to win the general election. so we're still a long way off from that kind of thinking. >> you were talking about a gold commission. that's something ron paul has been passionate about, back since the reagan years, and it was interesting talking about ron paul supporters. they are passionate. ron paul or nobody. but when i pushed hard, maybe then newt. >> well, one -- it's a fact of life, ron paul is going to get a significant vote. it's a fact of life that you want to find something that will give him a strong reason not to consider a third party, and then you have to say, okay, under what circumstance. he has a legitimate role. he's earned that by running an adequate campaign, and you want to find something we're adequately compatible on. >> one final question, i reached out on twitter today, social media, and i asked for questions for you. there were questions about a lot of things, but the main question was about last night, and it was about what you had said in 1998, talking to april 22nd, referring to the monica lewinsky scandal, i will never again as a speaker make a speech without commenting on this topic. there's a perception that has been hypocritical because you were so hard on clinton and. >> what was the problem, clinton's problem? he lied under oath in front of a federal judge, which is a felony. wasn't his personal behavior in the oval office. he lied under oath to a federal judge. he committed a felony. >> so that's the oath that bothered you. thoug not the marital oath he would have broken. >> it was many articles for a long time, starting with jennifer flowers. the problem was, and you can jauj that as a private citizen and say i like it or don't like it. problem was perjury, and he's a lawyer. he has no excuse. perjury in front of a federal judge in a case like that has jail time. now, you get to a point where you say, are we going to become a third world country and as long as your poll numbers are good, who cares if you break the law? we need to enforce the law. that's what the case was about. it was enormous -- i think the country got to the right solution. he was impeached by the house. the senate refused to convict, but we stood a tough standard for future presidents that says don't break the law. >> last question, you're very popular this week. we'll see what happens tomorrow. >> and you're be back. >> you'll be back. you're going on. how great of a week has it been for donations? >> very good. i don't know the details, because i don't pay attention. but i can tell you that we have the resources to go on to florida, and we're very excited about it. this has been, as you said earlier, this has been my entire career, the wildest ride i have ever been on. it's amazing. >> a mazing to cover it as well. thanks so much. >> all right, well, you heard from newt gingrich, as everyone is getting ready to start voting tomorrow morning. now, hear from the voters. we went by a denny's for a grand slam. we have not been eating well down here, absolutely not eating well. they shared their thoughts on last night's debate and tomorrow's primary. and a woman who knows more about south carolina politics than almost anyone. jenny sanford comes out front. >> and the latest fights on sopa. the bill's on hold, but for how long? we'll be back. with your buddie? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ our crew woke up this morning in charleston and decided bojangles wasn't enough. we needed to go to denny's and we did. the restaurant chain is based right here in south carolina, which is -- we didn't know that until a few weeks ago. we wanted to go and find out what voters were thinking. if was a good place to go. on their minds, the debate front and center and the primary tomorrow. >> i think there were a lot of people who switched over to newt gingrich last night in south carolina. i think he came out the winner in his primary because of the atta attacks on his private life. >> all the way until last night. >> is it pro-life republican, i really like what santorum has to say. >> i'm a ron paul supporter, so i appreciated hearing him live, but i don't think that he was given quite the amount of time the others were. >> out front now, republican congressman, tim scott, of south carolina. local conservative talk show host vince colclough, and john avalon. congressman g to see you. i know you're friends with newt gingrich, have been for a long time. you have not yet endorsed. how do you think it's going to go? >> last night, there was a softball thrown as newt gingrich, it was ugly, but he hit it out of the park. it changed the dynamic of the race. i would have said before yesterday, there would have been a photo finish with romney cuting the tape first, and i would say today it slipped. still a very tight race. i was in the gym this afternoon, and the folks in the gym paused and then they said, newt. i was very surprised. i think the momentum has shifted because the backlash towards the timing of the story seems to be running the tape. runing the race. >> that was actually, neat was talking to me about a book that inspired him about waves in television and ride to waves. he was talking about just that, very open about it. >> vince, what are you hearing? you were talking to voters in south carolina all day? >> it's a mix of things. there are the people who very much are upset about the fact that he's had these cases of infidelity, and we have known this about newt gingrich, but what is significant about it is i think the people who are already opposed to newt gingrich are still opposed to newt gingrich. others are more supportive than ever because they feel like the media has come down on him and now they're rallying behind him. it's going to be interesting to see whether this actually has helped him in the long run. >> interesting. we spoke about to media issue. the elite media, which is how he has been describing it, that has been working for him. >> red meat for the republican audience. the bias has been baked in the cake for a long time. when mitt romney was selling millions of negative ads, they didn't seem sympathetic, but gingrich has the gain. you can see it in the polls. >> it could go well for him. congressman, jow known him for a long time. you haven't come out and formally endorsed anyone. why is that? >> a guy that matches your values and who wins in the fall and that equation really is something i'm still going through the process. i like what mitt brings to the table. an organization, very good structure, deep pockets and the opportunity to run the race for the long haul. newt brings the ability, the more you attack him, the better he gets. you've got to appreciate that. >> he loves being attacked. >> it works for him. >> that's why i said last night the ugly softball was truly a slow pitch. for the rest of us who may have dodging it, not him. in a general election, six or seven debates against this president, who is very, very good, we want our very best toe to toe, with the heavyweight champion, frarngly. do you go with a guy that has the structure of the organization and deep pockets, but may not do as well or go with the guy you know will win the debates, will hit hard, often and the more he gets attacked, he has the ability to win independents. on issues like this, from my perspective. >> what do you think about the unless issue. a lot of people thought he would do better with the crowd because he's been governor of a state like massachusetts. >> part of what's happening here, too, another dynamic, for people who were supportive of herman cain and they feel the media helped to bring him down. so this is oortd reason why -- >> and cain was ardently defending with the media. >> so now you're at a place where they're saying, you're not going to take him down. we're going to stand with him. one of the things that i hear people saying over and over again is they love the way he's able to debate, frame an argument, the way he's able to inspire people and that frankly is kind of missing from some of the other candidates, so that's one of the strongest things that helps him. >> tortoise and hear? >> perry supporters, going to nutd. herman supporters, they're probably going to go to newt. mitt romney's camp trying to lower expectations. and they have a great organization, but today, i got two robo calls back to back. they're definitely, i'm sure it was a coincidence, but they know it's tight. >> i imagine like a little turtle shell and mitt's face sticking out. appreciate it. and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. still out front, new video from the cruise ship. new video in from inside the ship. you of course know it crashed a week ago off the coast of italy. and more from south carolina. we found peaches in the palmetto state. georgia, you got nothing. 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[ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromise on taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. we're in south carolina tonight. here's are few facts about the palmetto state. state animal, white tailed deer. amphibian, spotted salamander kind of like a newt. and most surprising, the state fruit is the peach. you say what? georgia is be best known at the peach state, but in the 1950s, south carolina took over from georgia as the biggest peach producing state in the union and even though since california has passed them both, south carolina still produces way more peaches than georgia, which brings us to tonight's number, 90,000. the number of peaches south carolina produces each year. that is more than double you, georgia. at 40,000. commercially produced in 23 states, californiaering soult carolina, georgia, and new jersey, number four. south carolina and georgia focus on their fresh rather than processed peaches and their fruit feud pops up in the strangest places. for example, the 1972 album eat a peach, released by the alman brothers band. that peach cover was designed by two guys from south carolina. all right. coming up, a woman who has experienced the best and worst of south carolina politics. je

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