>> waging war on religion and america. >> the dignity and sanctity is foundational america. >> the creator had endowed us with our rights. >> is this any way to win in november? congresswoman michele bachmann and mitch daniels. plus blood shed in syria, nuclear advancements in iran, the threat to u.s. security with former cia director michael hayden and former ambassador to israel. then, job creation from the man with a plan. starbucks ceo howard shultz. i'm candy crowley and this is state of the union. ron paul almost has a total package a strong consistent mess -- message, enough money, and motivated and surprisingly young support system. what he doesn't have after nine contests is a single win. paul's delegate estimate is the lowest of the four major contenders. looking ahead, paul is shown in third or fourth place. joining us now is a man who is needing a breakthrough. ron paul. congressman, thank you for joining us. i think it's fair to say at this point, you get great crowds, you get the money and yet you don't have a win and it seems almost impossible to envision a presidential nominee that can't win in a state somewhere. look ahead for me and tell me where you can win. >> well, it all depends on how you measure winning. if you measure whether we're winning the maximum number of delegates in states, we actually have had wins. even though the final tally is not in. that's what really counts. some of these straw votes are straw votes and sometimes they get very confused in counting votes. take iowa for instance, we think we're going to have the most delegates out of iowa and probably maine. and they are still very confused up there on what is going on with the popular vote. i know there's a lot of political benefit to that. but the bottom line is who is going to get the delegates and we think we're doing pretty good and it seems like our momentum is picking up. i'm actually shocked at the tremendous turnouts that we've had. we've been out on the road and we've had eight functions here in the last three days. 14,000 people have turned out and the enthusiasm seems to be growing. i know it's missing the national tv but if anybody travels with us, they know that something special is going on and the frustration levels. those others at the top now doesn't mean they're going to stay there. not the way this campaign's been going. >> the question, though, is, yes, you certainly prove that you can get those enthusiastic crowds. i've seen them. you see them all the time, obviously. but the question is, does ron paul have a ceiling because you're lining the polls pretty much steady since september around 15%. it's just hard to see how you put together enough delegates to win the nomination. you can perhaps influence the nomination. but in your heart of hearts, do you have a place where you think, if i can't do it here, i'm going to have to rethink this? >> you don't know until the end. i use the track analogy. i used to run very hard and i didn't decide who was going to be in first or second place. i just ran real hard. that's to be decided later on. but i just think there's every reason to believe that this momentum will continue because it is -- you know, it is relatively early. i know in a week or so there's going to be a big difference. there's every reason to believe that we're going to be in a very good position. and we have to be optimistic. we know exactly what the odds are. but, you know, nobody knows the future. you know that. >> i absolutely know it. certainly i don't. do you foresee yourself taking this all the way into august even if you get to a point where the mathematics don't add up? do you foresee yourself taking the delegates you do have and going to the convention in august? >> well, yeah. because right now we don't know when the end is. whether may, june, july, or august. i have to assume that it's going to go into august because we're not going to lock it up into may, obviously. so we have to wait and see. so that in my mind i anticipate that it's going to go on for a while and that's certainly what the supporters want me to do. >> let me read something that you told your crowd yesterday. i believe you were in kansas city last night. when you said we, the united states, we're slipping into a fascist system where it's a combination of government and big business and authoritarian rule and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every american citizen. i have heard this before from you. a fascist system is one of those things that's going to catch attention. do you really think that the u.s. now has a fascist system and point to me some examples of that. >> no, i don't think we do but i worry about it a lot because we have a system of economics. we have interventionism. it serves the interest of the special sbess and they are the big banks and wealthy corporations. it starts off with a combination between big business and government. just look at the bailouts. did you see that statistic? i think it was cnn that showed it. i do my best with the middle class because i understand this. but there's a coalition of big business and big government and why i'm getting more nervous is because fascism is an authoritarian rule of government. think of hitler. nobody wants to talk about the arrest of american citizens now held indefinitely without a trial. and people aren't concerned about it? if we have economic chaos in greece or something much worse, they could clamp down on us. this is why i do worry about it. we don't have this now and i even mentioned last night in the speech, i said, we're not there. at least we can come and visit and meet and have meetings like this and we can change the course because we actually change that bill on online piracy acts. people can still act out. we're not there but there's reasons why we should not be complacent. >> let me ask you about a couple of your rivals. rick santorum has had quite the rise in the polls. do you believe today from what you see that rick santorum can beat president obama in november? >> well, i don't see how that's possible. this whole idea of talking about the social issues and who is going to pay for birth control pills, i'm worried about undermining our civil liberties, the constant war going on, the debt of $16 trillion and they are worried about birth control pills and here he wants to, you know, control people's social and lives and at the same point he voted for planned parenthood. i don't see how anybody can get away with that inconsistency pretending he's a conservative. and his voting record is, i think, an atrocious voting record. liberal record and all of the things that he's voted for in the senate and in the house. >> are you uncomfortable -- certainly rick santorum has been on the forefront of the talk about social issues, but there are others in the race. are you uncomfortable with the talk about social issues? do you consider it a winning area for republicans in november? >> no. i think it's a losing position. i mean, i talk about it because i have a precise understanding of how difficult problems should be solved. they're not to be at the national level. we're not supposed to nationalize this level. the founders were very clear that problems like this, if there needs to be legislation of sorts, the state has the right to right the legislation that they so choose. and that solves a lot of our problems. the idea that it's a national issue of who has to pay for birth control pills, that comes from the fact that it's a national mandate that the government controls insurance programs. the insurance -- to have true insurance, you have to have that done in the marketplace. you can't have that done by government. >> quickly if i could ask you, there's been a lot of talk that you and mitt romney seem to have a bit of a mutual truce going on. can we take that as you believing that mitt romney, if it's not yourself, is a good presidential nominee for the republican party? >> there's not much on issues that we agree on, whether it's foreign policy or personal liberties issue or probably on taxes we might have agreement. but, no, i think they are all the same, in the same group. the only thing that i mention when people press me on that is management style. he certainly would have a more -- you know, an acceptable management style when you consider what i have seen in experience from the other two candidates, i don't think they qualify there. as far as issues go, i'm uncomfortable with all three of them. i think they're the status quo and they don't want to change anything. that's what i'm offering. >> my guess is we will be talking to you again. thank you, ron paul. we appreciate it. see you down the road. by all appearances, the republicans are fighting for the heart and soul of their own party. two people whose votes are up for grabs, indiana governor mitch daniels and michele bachmann. they are here next. imagine if you could always see life [music] in the best light. every time of day. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it is meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ we just heard from ron paul but what's the buzz on the rest of the presidential field? joining me to discuss what 2012 holds for the gop from minneapolis, former republican presidential candidate congresswoman michele bachmann and from indianapolis, mitch daniels who served both presidents reagan and george w. bush. to you both, thank you so much for being here this morning. i want to start out asking you about this past week where social issues have really come to the forefront. let me start with you, governor daniels. i know that you said some time ago, before this race got heated up, the republicans need to put social issues on the back burner and talk about the economy. are you uncomfortable with the turn of this week? >> i never used the term back burner but i do think as a matter of emphasis we ought to stress the largest single danger that america has ever faced. that's the debt that's piled up and is scheduled to be. and in this last week the president again went totally awol on this largest of subjects. he gives a state of the union speech, manages to talk 75 minutes and never mentioned it. it would be like fdr giving his in 1942 and japan never coming up. and then he issues a budget that is destined to be discarded because it says come on, everyone, let's go broke. i think it's the most defining among many of the important issues. it's the one that the majority of americans could be rallied on, the economy and the debt, and i just think that should be priority. >> congresswoman, i am going to ask you the same question but i want to play you a montage of your democratic colleagues in the house and the senate who when a birth control panel came up to talk about health care and birth control, it was all male. and here's some of what they had to say. >> where are the women? when i look at this panel, i don't see one single woman representing the tens of millions of women across the country. >> imagine having a panel on women's health and they don't have any women on the panel. duh. >> time and time again women have been silenced in the discussion. >> the democratic women are here to say, enough. we are standing up today and every day to fight for women and their right to make their own basic health care decisions. >> now, i play that montage, congresswoman, to show you that this always plays into the political dynamic, both the republican party and the democratic party. we're going to see emily's list go up in three states talking about an anti-women move and it's directed at republicans. does this sort of thing harm you in the fall? >> well, there is no anti-woman move whatsoever. the republican party is extremely pro-women. what we saw was president obama's signature piece of legislation which is obama care demonstrated 3d. and the 3d full court demonstration is that now obama care means that one individual, the president of the united states has unprecedented breathtaking authority to make a decision about whatever health care service, whatever health care product, if he wants it offered or not offered, will it be free, he'll set the prices. this is unprecedented. >> governor, would you take as an issue that while that's how republicans feel, it's not how it's coming across. we've seen poll of poll showing that people believe that contraception should be provided to all women and that you republicans are on the wrong side of the issue in terms of pr and how it looks for the party. >> i really don't know but i think michele just answered the question. this isn't about birth control or after term abortion. this is the most recent of a long string in which the administration says we'll do what we tell you and you'll like it or not. >> governor, i will ask you to stand by. we'll have more in a moment. does an improving economy mean four more years for president obama? we'll ask them. and then later, why did the chicken cross the road? we were told that he was heading to a newt gingrich rally. that and more bizarre antics when we look at the campaign trail. brad doesn't want to spend too much. who's brad? this is brad. ahh! well, progressive has lots of discounts for a guy like brad. brad's intrigued. paid in full, safe driver, multi-car, going paperless -- all can help brad save a bunch. sign brad up. cool! jamie will ring you up. show brad the way. who's brad? oh, here we go again. discounts that everyone can use. now, that's progressive. call or click today. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. ...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. we are back with mitch daniels and michele bachmann. i wanted to pop the two of you quick questions about the state of the race right now. every time i ask someone if a long race is going to hurt the republicans, the stock answer is of course now it makes us stronger. but i want to show you a couple of polls here and the first one is -- the question is, to republicans only, are you satisfied with the field of presidential candidates? in october, 66% of republicans said yes they are satisfied. now 55% say. so an 11-point drop in republicans satisfied with this field. we also see the president gaining in head to head against all of them and slightly against mitt romney. is that proof that over the course of this time republicans have hurt themselves? congresswoman bachmann? >> no. not at all. what you're seeing are candidates showing the flaws in each other. and of course you're going to see a reduction in the number that these candidates will show, but president obama also hasn't necessarily been the focus of this race. that will all change. that dynamic will change very quickly. we have an excellent field of candidates and i think it's important we recognize that these are highly qualified individuals who would do an imminently far superior job over president obama. they're right on how to handle the economy. president obama has been a disaster and they understand foreign policy. probably president obama's worst act as president as been on foreign policy. that hasn't even had the level of scrutiny it needs to have. >> i imagine he would point to the killing of osama bin laden and the ending of two wars. but before i get into foreign policy -- >> of course. that's a tactical success. but his strategic blunder is putting space between united states and israel. that is a detriment to the united states and our safety. >> before i veer off someplace i don't want to go, governor, can you concede that with each passing primary, the whole thho whoever becomes the nominee has to dig out of becomes deeper because they are losing support? generically republicans are. >> no, i don't. i think michele said it well. ultimately this will be a binary choice between a failed presidency and policies which could hardly have been more detrimental to job growth and investment and risk taking. they'd been designed to be that way. it would be a choice between that and a future of certain decline and indebtedness. >> governor, i want to interrupt you there because i want to ask you about the economy. because if the economy shows that it's getting better and there are signs now that it is, there is some consumer confidence that it is at least growing, what else is in the republican arsenal? >> well, first, that will be in the republican arsenal. let me say i hope earnestly for a much stronger economy. i think it's a prerequisite to everything else we want in terms of national success. let's not kid ourselves. this is the worst recovery ever from a serious recession and history says the deeper the down the sharper the up. it should have been a very vigorous one. it hasn't been. the percentage of people actually working in america today, candy, is the lowest since the days of the stay-at-home mom. and so let's hope for better times but this is a really pathetically weak economy with storm clouds in europe, storm clouds in oil prices. and i consider it very unlikely that president obama will have anything but a big negative in terms of the biggest issues of all when the fall gets here. >> congresswoman, i want to ask you a final question. do you believe that this race in the republican party is down to rick santorum and mitt romney? >> well, the candidates are going up and down but we will have an eminently better nominee than president barack obama will be. i believe we saw evidence of that on thursday at the house budget committee with chairman paul ryan taking on tim geithner. we saw clearly by the government's own numbers that within 15 years this economy will effectively stop and all president obama can offer is $1.3 trillion of deficit in this next budget. there is no future. there is no hope with president obama having a second term. >> michele bachmann, mitch daniels, thank you both for joining us. >> thank you. tens and thousands of protesters packed the streets in damascus. bashar al assad's security forces meet them with tear gas. what is next for that country. that's straight ahead. [ beep ] [ mom ] scooter? the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. the arab spring has turned into a bitter winter. nowhere more so than in syria. the town of homs shelled for two weeks killing hundreds and emptying the stre