most talked about moments when all eight republicans stood on the stage with me in tampa, florida, this week. governor perry, speaking of social security, you said in the past it's a ponzy scheme. an absolute failure. unconstitutional. but today you wrote an article in usa today saying it must be saved and reformed. very different tone. why? >> it's time for us to get back to the constitution. and a program that's been there 70 or 80 years, obviously we're not going to take that program away. but for people to stand up and support what they did in the '30s or in the 2010s is not appropriate for america. >> the question is, do you still believe that social security should be ended as a federal program as you did six months ago when your book came out and return to the states or do you want a treat for them? >> i think we ought to have a conversation -- >> we're having that right now, governor. we're running for president. >> we'll finish this conversation. but the issue is, are there ways to move the states into social security? we did it in the state of texas in the 1980s. i think those types of thoughtful conversations with america rather than trying to scare seniors like you're doing and other people, it's time to have a legitimate conversation in this country about how to fix that program where it's not bankrupt and our children actually know that there's going to be a retirement program there for them. >> governor, the term ponzy scheme is what scares seniors, number one. and number two, suggesting that social security should no longer be a federal program and return to the states is likewise frightening. there are a lot of the bright people who agree with you. and that's your view. i happen to have a different one. i think that social security is an essential program that we should change the way we're funding it. >> governor, you called it a criminal -- you said if people did it in the private sector, it would be called criminal. that's in your book. >> what i said was -- [ applause ] >> governor perry, you have to quote me correctly. you said it's criminal. i said congress taking money out of the social security trust fund is like criminal and it is, it's wrong. >> i don't think anything should be off the table except maybe the drama playing out on this floor today. i mean to hear these two go at it over here it is incredible. you have governor romney who called it a fraud in his book "no apology." i don't know if that was written by kurt cobain or not. and then you have governor perry who is calling this is a ponzy scheme. all i know, wolf, is we're frightening the american people who just want solutions. and this party isn't going to win in 2012 unless we get our act together and fix the problem. we all know that we've gotten titlement problems. we have medicare. we've got social security. the fixes are there. i mean the ryon plan is there, for heaven sake. we have the answers. dwoent have leadership much that's the problem. >> i'm not particularly worried about governor perry and governor romney frightening the american people when president obama scares them every single day. >> governor romney, you know governor perry is governor of texas created more jobs in texas than any other state. >> terrific state. no question about that. some wonderful things that texas has going for them that the nation can learn from. zero income tax. that's a pretty good thing. right to work state. republican legislature. republican supreme court. by the way, a the love oil as well. >> does governor perry deserve any credit for all the jobs that were created in texas? >> oh, sure. >> go ahead and tell him how much credit he deserves. >> well, look -- >> i think governor perry would agree with me if you are dealt four ace that's doesn't make you necessarily a great poker player. and four aces -- and the four ace that's are terrific aces the nation should learn from are the ones i described, zero income tax, low regulation, right to work state, oil in the ground and republican legislature am those things are terrific. by the way, there has been great job growth in texas under ann richards, job growth was 2.5% a year. under george bush, 3% a year. under rick perry, 1% a year. those are all good numbers. those are all good numbers. but texas is a great state. and i'll tell you, if you think that the country is like texas going well, then somebody who's done that is just terrific. if you think the country needs a turn around, that's what i do. >> all right, governor perry. you were dealt four aces. >> well, i was going to say mit you were doing good until you got to talking poker. but the fact is the state of texas has led the nation. while the colonel resident of the white house is overseeing the loss of 2.5 million jobs, texas has during my period as governor created over a million jobs. we did that during some pretty tough economic period. >> let me bring speaker gingrich into this conversation. jobs, jobs, jobs. all of us that covered you when you were speaker and worked together with president clinton at the time, you compromised. he compromised. you got things done. there was a budge surplus for as far as the high can see. if you were president, you would work with the democrats assuming they were the majority in the house or the senate? would you compromise with them on some of these gut issues? >> when i was a very young congressman, ronald reagan taught me a great lesson. if you have democrats in charge, go to the american people on principle and have the american people educate their congressmen. he used to say, i try to turn up the light for the people so they will turn up the heat on congress. when we passed welfare reform, half the people who -- half the democrats voted yes because they couldn't go home having voted no. and on a principle basis, i'd be glad to work with democrats in any office. would i do it on principle, not on compromising principle. >> governor perry, as you well know, you signed an executive order requiring little girls 11 and 12-year-old girls to get a vaccine to deal with a sexually tra transmitted disease that could lead to cervical cancer. was that a mistake? >> it was, indeed. if i had to do it over again, i would have done it differently. i would have gone to the legislature, worked with them. but what was driving me was obviously making a difference about young people's lives. >> cervical cancer is a horrible way to die. and i happen to think that what we were trying to do was to clearly send a message that we're going to give moms and dads the opportunity to make that decision with parental opt out. >> do you have a problem with anything that governor perry just said? you're a mom. >> i'm a mom. and i'm a mom of three children. and to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. that should never be done. that's a violation of a liberty interest. little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don't get a mulligan. they don't get a do over. the parents don't get a do over. that's why i fought so hard in washington, d.c., against president obama and obama care. i just wanted to add that we cannot forget that in the midst of this executive order there is a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate. we can't deny that. >> what you are suggesting? >> what i'm saying is that it's wrong for a drug company because the governor's former chief of staff is the chief lobbyist for this drug company. the drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donation tosz the governor. and this is just flat out wrong. the question is, is it about life or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company? >> let the senator hold off for a second. you have to respond to that. >> yes, sir, the company was merck. and it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received from them. i raise about $30 million. if you're saying that i can be bought for $5,000, i'm offended. >> i'm offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice. that's what i'm offended. >> i'm going to move on unless you want to say anything else. zbh look, i think we made decisions in texas. we put a $3 billion effort into find the cure for cancer. there are a lot of different cancers out there. texas, i think, day in and day out is a place that protects life. i'm passed parental notification, pieces of legislation. i've been the most pro-life governor in the state of texas. and what we were all about was trying to save young people's lives in texas. >> then give parents the opt in -- teach them, let them opt in but do the no force them to have this vaccine. >> thank you, governor. before i goat michelle bachman -- you're a fashion ron paul. let me ask you this. a healthy 30-year-old young man has a good job, makes a good living. but decides, you know what? i'm not going to spend 200 or $300 a month for health insurance because i'm healthy. i don't need it. something terrible happens. all of a sudden, he needs it. who pays for that? >> in a society you accept welfarism and socialism, he expects the government it take care of it. he should do whatever he wants to do and assume responsibility for himself. my advice to him is have a major medical policy. but not be forced -- >> he doesn't have it. and he needs -- he needs intensive care for six months. who pays? >> that's what freedom is all b taking your own risk. this whole idea that you have to prepare and take care of everybody -- congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die? >> no. i practice medicine before we had medicaid in the eerarly 196. i practiced at santa rosa hospital in san antonio. the churches took care of them. we never turned anybody away from the hospitals. and we have given up on this whole concept that we might take care of ourselves and assume responsibility for ourselves, our neighbors, our friends, our churches would do it. this whole idea -- that's the reason that the cost is so high. the cost is so high because we dump it on the government. it becomes a bureaucracy. it becomes special interest. it coddles the drug companies. then on top of that, you have the inflation. the inflation devalues the dollar. we have lack of competition. there's no competition in medicine. everybody is protected by licensing. we should actually legalize alternative health care, allow people to practice what they want. >> did you sign legislation giving some illegal immigrants in texas the opportunity to have instate tuition at universities in texas. >> if you're working and pursuing a citizenship in the state of texas, you pay in state tuition. there and the bottom line is it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is. that is the american way. no matter how you got into that state from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you, and that's what we've done in the state of texas. and i'm proud that we are having those individuals be contributing members of our society rather than tell on them you go and be on the government dough. >> you heard boos there. go ahead congressman bachmann. is that dream act that president obama wants as well? >> it's very similar. i think the american sway not to give taxpayers subsidized benefits to people who broken our laws or are here in the united states illegally. that is not the american way. because the immigration system in the united states worked very, very well up until the mid 1960s when liberal members of congress changed immigration laws. what works is to have people come into the united states with a little bit of money in their pocket legally with sponsors so that if anything happens to them, they don't fall back on the taxpayers to take care of them. and then they also have to agree to learn to speak the english language, learn american history and our constitution. that's the american way. >> all right. a little flavor of what went on during that lengthy debate in tampa. we're going to go dig deeper though now with some of the candidates straight ahead. i'll go one-on-one with mitt romney, newt gingrich and john huntszman, all three of them joining us right here in "the situation room". ♪ what are you looking at? 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[ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. for wherever life takes you. should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance, they all work together perfectly and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ mitt romneya harsh critic of the obama administration. i talked about that and much more with former massachusetts governor mitt romney. the front-runner rick perry, at least according to a lot of the polls, he just spoke to our sister publication "time" magazine. he made this statement. i'm going to play it for you and then we'll discuss. listen to rick perry. >> i still believe they are socialists. there are policies prove that almost daily. i mean when all the answers emanate from washington, d.c., one size fits all, whether it's education policy or whether it's health care policy, that is, on its face, socialism. >> talking about the obama administration's policies. do you agree with him? >> well, you know, words have a lot of unintended meanings and calling people socialists probably goes beyond the fact that it is true that president obama's team and the president himself seem to believe that government has a better approach to our economy than does the private sector. and i disagree with that approach. i believe that we have to have a government that is a partner that, is encouraging the private sector, encouraging freedom, encouraging free people. what they've done instead is add regulation, add taxation, add burdens to the free enterprise system which does tend to make us more european. and europe isn't working in europe. so, you know, i don't use the word socialist or i haven't so far. it's not working. >> you remember that exchange i had at the debate with ron paul. i asked him about that hypothetical call 30-year-old that has a good job, healthy, makes a good living but decides he doesn't want to buy health insurance. he wants to do something else with that money. but he gets into some sort of accident and needs life support for six months. costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. what do you do with -- who pays for that kind of care? you heard the exchange i had with ron paul. what do you say? as you know, what i say is states have a responsibility for caring for their own poor. this should not be a federal responsibility. and there are two-ways that states traditionally have done. that one is give up free care at the hospitals. and that gets paid for either by other insured individuals or by taxpayers. in my state, it was paid for by taxpayers. or, you can have inferior care given to people who in which kaz their lives are in jeopardy. we're going to insist on people taking personal responsibility. we're not going to have people dying or have their health care in jejeopardy. if they can afford their own care, we're going to insist they pay for it as opposed to looking for government. the people that come up with other ideas, i want to seat ideas in different states. you know in, massachusetts now about 98% of our people have insurance. and i'm proud of the fact that we're seeing better health outcomes as a result. >> were you taken aback by when the audience tea party supporters said you would let that young man die and some of them screamed out, yes! were you taken aback by that response from some in the audience? >> i sure was. i was very disappointed by that response. look, we're a people that care very deeply for one another. we respect the sanctity of human life, whether unborn life, middle of their life or end of their life. i tried very hard as governor of my state to come up with a plan that would care for people in our state in a thoughtful and compassionate way. less than 1% of our children don't have health insurance. over 99% of our kids have health insurance. there are other states where the uninsured kids are as high as 20%. you know, i hope to find a solution to problems and to try and help our people. i think that's the role of those that have responsibility. and incidentally, there may be better ways to do it that i came up with. and as ross perot used to say, i'm all ears. i'm happy to see what other people come up with. if they come up with something better than i did, i'm happy to have states be able to adopt. that but a federal takeover with a federal government telling states how to do it, that is one mistake and that's one reason i repeal obama care. >> how far would you go to stop iran from building a nuclear bomb? >> iran has to be convinced we'll go all the way. that we'll take military action. that military action is on the table. i think our president communicated in various subtle ways that there is not a military option that, we would consider. i think that's a mistake. i think you have to have crippling sanctions against iran. i think you have to have covert action in iran to convince the people there of the becoming a nuclear nation. i think they have to believe that america would consider taking military action. that has to be on the table and plans have to be in place. and that's something which clearly you have to consider. we cannot endure a world where iran has a bomb. then, of course, the saudis will and turkey will and you go aren't world. syrians will. you'll have all sorts of people with nuclear weapons. ultimately, the material will find its way in the hands of terrorists and the consequence for the world and for the america is unthinkable. >> if you were president and you had to deal with the united nations general assembly vote in the coming days that would call for the creation of a palestinian state, what would you do about it? >> you start a long time ago. this would have been avoided or. >> kevin: been avoided in my view had the president made it clear from the very outset that we stand by israel. that we lock arm and arm. instead, the president tried to communicate to the palestinians and others that support their effort that, well, there may be some distance between us and israel. look, you stand by your allies. you show that you're united. that's the best way to keep people from taking adventurous activity. >> good luck, governor. we'll stay in close touch. >> thanks, wolf. good to be with you. >> why is newt gingrich comparing himself to bill clinton, jimmy carter and george mcgovern? you're going to find out next. # are you curious about new ideas? do you want to learn a new language, or just a new word? maybe you want to know more about anatomy, or astronomy. you could master something new, or uncover a hidden talent. there's never been a better time to learn. for a free home loan review, we'll offer them a free android smartphone. but how are you gonna get these phones to our clients coast to coast? 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[ male announcer ] call today for a free home loan review. we'll offer a free android smartphone to you! one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. newt gingrich got good reviews for his debate performance. he often tried to teach his rivals a thing or two. i asked him about the key moments of