we're picking up new information and he's also getting a nut ew endorse. . i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he's not just the new republican presidential front-runner, newt gingrich is leading the republican pack by double digits in several brand-new polls. a gallop national survey of registered republicans shows him 15 points ahead of mitt romney. 37% to 22%. less than a month away from the iowa caucuses. a new cbs new york times poll has gingrich 14 points ahead of romney. as former front-runners know, top status meepz extra scrutiny and he was grilled about some of his past positions by conservatives. this is happening as we're meeting right now. jim acosta is watching all of this for us. what's the very latest? he's getting tough questions. >> his poll numbers have been good but it has been said his own worst enemy is newt gingrich. the two may have come face to face. >> glenn beck turns up the tea party heat on newt gingrich rubbing his nose in his past support for a individual mandate that requires americans to buy medical insurance as both a key pone ent in the new health care law and poison for conservati conservatives. >> here is may 2011. >> you either have health insurance or post a bond or in some way indicate you'll be held accountable. >> you seem to be very interested in the government finding the solution. >> well, let's go back to what i just said. go back and listen to exactly what i was asked on that show and what i said i'll stand by. >> support for an individual mandate. folks don't ask me to explain this. >> conservative outrage our gingrich's position on health care is featured in a tv ad from ron paul. it's a test for the new gop front-runner who once posted a video on his youtube page posting an opposition to a mandate. >> i'm completely opposed to the obama care mandate for individuals. i fought it for two and a half years. >> on the website the group advocates a requirement that anyone who earns more than $50,000 a year must purchase health insurance or post a bond. his past support could be a bitter pill to swallow in the tea party. right now he has 82% of tea party support far ahead of romney, whose own health care mandate in massachusetts is a major turnoff for voters in iowa. a new "washington post" poll finds 45% of republican caucus goers in iowa say it's a reason to oppose romney. >> at the end of the day, they are going to find that he changes his positions much in the same way as romney. >> pressing on the infamous ad with nancy pelosi on the need to kpat climate change. >> we don't always see eye to high shlgs do we, newt? >> no, but we do agree our country must take action to address climate change. >> do you still believe in the inconvenient truth as youtd lou by global climate change advoca advocates? >> he did the ad for al gore's alliance for protection. gingrich calls the spot one of his dumbest mistakes. gingrich is riding high with four weeks to go until the cauc caucuses. the question is whether the past positions on key conservative issues will catch up with him in time to slow him down. >> lime looking at the polls and we we mentioned the new cbs/new york times poll, rick perry, 11, the abc washington post poll in iowa, gingrich 33, romney 18, ron paul 18, rick perry 11, very similar. in south carolina, which is maybe arguably even more important than iowa or new hampshire, gingrich 38, romney 22, rick perry 9%. so right now with four weeks to go, january 3rd, four weeks from today, newt gingrich is doing pretty nicely. >> that's right. it's boiling down at this point to a choice between mitt romney and newt gingrich and really this might become an issue of hearts and minds. mitt romney may seem like the smart choice for a lot of republican voters but doesn't hit them in the heart. newt gingrich and i saw this up close and personal, not only checking off those boxes for conservative voters, also appealing to their heart with tough language on president obama working for him right now. >> jim acosta will be busy over the next month and beyond i'm sure. thanks very much. this important programming note for our viewers, both newt gingrich and rick perry, they will join me here in "the situation room" tomorrow. we'll talk about newt gingrich's surging campaign as republican rivals a lot more. lots of questions tomorrow for rick perry and newt gingrich. if you want to weigh in or have a suggested question, send me a tweet at wolf blitzer at cnn. maybe i'll read one of your questions to those two candidates. beginning 4:00 p.m. eastern right here in the "the situation room." president obama previewed his campaign themes in a major speech in kansas. he traveled to the same town where teddy roosevelt delivered a landmark speech of his presidency a century ago calling for greater economic equality. the president echoed those themes today calling on americans to unite to restore opportunity for everyone. >> this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make or break moment for the middle class and for all of those fighting to get into the middle class. because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement. now in the midst of this debate, there are some who seem to be suffering from a kind of collective amnesia. after all that's happened, after the worst economic crisis and worst financial crisis since the great depression, they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. in fact, they want to go back to the same policies that stack the deck against middle class americans for way too many years. and their floesfy is simple. we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. >> let's talk about the president's speech with gloria borger. what was the president trying to do today, fly all the way to kansas and deliver this lengthy speech? >> well, it was a political speech, wolf and i think he was trying to define what this campaign is going to be about. he was using the notion of income inequality to sell the extension of the payroll tax cut. you heard in that little clip that we ran that he believes there's a large wealth gap in this country, that's indisputable, the richer gotten richer and poor have gotten poorer. he calls it a defining issue of our time. he says we need to level of the playing field and what the republicans want to do is let everyone fend for themselves. in the larger scheme of things, though, wolf. this president does not want the election to be about high unemployment or his economic record. a large majority don't like what he's done on the economy. what he wants to do is define this election about this wealth gap and say, you know what, republicans are fine with it and i'm not. i'm going to fight for the middle class, which continues to be in a squeeze. he raised bill clinton's name, reminding people that when bill clinton was president, he created over 20 million jobs and your taxes were a little bit higher but times were good. >> does he have the american public with him on all of these gut issues? >> well, he has the political upper hand on the extension of the payroll tax cut. let me show you a poll that the national journal did. when they asked people whether they support extending the payroll tax cut, look how broad this support is. not only among democrats, 6 out of 10 republicans, half of republicans and independents 57%. but, i think there is an issue here that's larger for president obama as you head into the general election. he's talking about government fixing problems, regulation for example, government regulation. when you talk to the american public about whether they want the government to get more involved in their lives, the answer to that is no. so that's going to be the focus of the debate, is it the government that should level the playing field or willing market level the playing field on its own. >> 68% of the democrats -- >> did i say 58? >> you said 6 out of ten. >> almost 7 out of ten democrats support extending the payroll tax cuts. how are the republicans -- >> i spoke with a couple of republicans after the speech. they are not surprised by it. neither am i. they said it's the same old aim same old. one republican said it's taking the money from one group of people and giving it to another. the president wants to pay for that with a sur tax on the wealthiest among us. they say where's the president's plan for structural tax reform that would actually bring money into government cofferes and get the deficit down. they haven't seen the real solutions yet from the president. >> thanks very much. we'll get more on the speech in the nex hour. his senior adviser valerie jair receipt jarrett will join us live here in "the situation room" in our next hour. let's check in with jack cav fehrty. >> many of the gop hopefuls have been making the pilgrimage to trump tower to meet with the real estate magnet and reality tv star. yesterday front-runner newt gingrich was here to visit with trump. in his book he writes that the candidates come to see him, quote, because millions of people listen to what i say and know i get it, unquote. he adds that it wouldn't surprise him if he, trump, is the sing the most important endorsement a presidential candidate can get. just to be clear, trump says he's not bragging, i tell it like it is, end quote. he'll mostly endorse someone, hasn't said when. he flirted with his own republican run earlier this year, still isn't ruling out an independent run but not everyone in the republican race is after his endorsement. jon huntsman had the best line of the week, he refuses to kiss trump's ring or any other part of his anatomy. he says this is what's wrong with politics, showbusiness over substance. if trump had courage, he would still be running for president instead of manipulating the process from the outside. huptsman recently said he would not attend the gop debate trump is going to moderate. ron paul has turned that down as well, saying it would have a circus like atmosphere. he took a swipe and says gingrich and trump would have a wonderful time shopping together in new york, picking out krits mass gifts for their wives. he suggests tiffany's, i love ron paul. how important is donald trump's endorsement? go to cnn.com/caffertfile. >> he'll be in "the situation room" with me on thursday. we'll talk about his upcoming debate. thanks very much. we're going to take you live to arizona where mitt romney is picking up a new endorsement from a former vice president of the united states. you're looking at pictures over there. we have details over countless missing e-mails from his term as massachusetts governor. and steve forbes has endorsed rick perry for president. does he regret it now? i'll ask steve forbes. he's standing by and here in the "the situation room." we'll discuss this hour. usa prime credit... this peggy... hi, i'm cashing in my points... peggy? no more points - coupons now. coupons? coupons. coupons? next, you convert coupons to tokens. tokens? then you trade tokens for credits. and then i get the cash? then you call back. bye bye. peggy? hello? what just happened? want rewards that make sense? switch to discover. america's #1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logistics. ♪ mitt romney will not participate in donald trump's upcoming debate in iowa at the end of the month. mitt romney will not appear in that debate. newt gingrich will appear and rick perry will appear, those three republican presidential candidates will join donald trump at that debate. three other candidates have said no. romney, and ron paul and jon huntsman. michele bachmann still has not made up her mind whether or not she'll show up at this scheduled debate that donald trump will host in iowa at the end of the month. but the headline right now, mitt romney says no to donald trump. meanwhile, tough new questions facing the republican presidential candidate, mitt romney. they center on allegations he spend thousands of taxpayer dollars to hide electronic records from his term as the governor of massachusetts. brian todd has been looking into the story. what are you finding out? >> we have the records on the money that romney's team spent to replace computers at the end of his term as governor. but romney's team is adamant, this is what other governors have done before him and it's legal. it's still throwing him added scrutiny at the crucial time aside from newt gingrich, new hurdles for romney to clear in the republican race. questions about records from his term as massachusetts governor that disappeared and questioned whether he would be transparent as president. democratic massachusetts governor patrick's office said they found no e-mails from 2002 to 2006 in our possession which covers romney's term as governor. patrick's office says the kpiters used were replaced right before patrick took off. governor patrick's team gave us copies of leases for computers, indicating it cost taxpayers $100,000 to replace the computers near the end of the term. patrick's team says all of the computer files were removed and the server was taken out of service. an advocate for government transparency says those records should have been preserved. >> clearly in massachusetts it's not illegal to do that. that has been made clear in the press reports, anyway, because something is not illegal doesn't mean it's right or ethical or acceptable to the public to do so. and we believe that the records of political officials belong to the public. >> governor patrick's office also showed us records of canceled checks indicating romney's aides paid the state to buy the hard drives they used in the government jobs. theresa dolan under romney and other governors told reuters in all of those years no one ever expressed the desire to buy hard drives. john o'keefe, in charge of archiving all records says he was allowed to go anywhere to gather any records he needed for the archives but with romney's third floor office. >> so-called third floor was actually really office specific. you had the chief of staff and communications director and deputy chiefs of staff. they archive their own offices. it was handle differently. he does not believe it was a directive from romney but how it worked out. it was first reported by the "boston globe." the decision to erase most files is not illegal or unusual, that several other governors have also done that. romney said this. >> we actually put in 700 boxes of information to the archives that weren't even required. we followed the law exactly as intended and as written. >> romney's team says the decision by governor patrick to put out this information is politically motivated. an aide to patrick denied that saying they were only responding to media requests for public documents. >> what does massachusetts state law actually say about destroying records? >> it says that officials have to preserve records for a set amount of time, including electronic records but because of a state supreme court ruling that was issued 14 years ago, the governor's office is exempt from that law. romney's team could claim they were doing what was legal and have a window of interpretation. they make the claim every other governor did it before them. why should they leave the information for what they term is the opposition to see when no one else has done this before that? >> thanks very much for that report. romney by the way is picking up an endorsement from dan quarl. he cites romney's economic understanding and his integrity. we're standing by, we should be hearing from mitt romney fairly soon. look at the cameras you're seeing in arizona where he got that endorsement from dan quayle. he's going to take questions from reporters. we'll listen in and see what mitt romney has to say that's coming up right here in "the situation room." it's getting close to judgment day for former illinois governor rod blagojevich. we'll check in on his sentencing hearing. also, look at this. lady gaga, takes her campaign against bullying to the white house. she's there at the white house. this is not when she was at the white house but other video. we have pictures of her at the white house today. later my interview with influential media mogul steve forbes. you'll hear what he has to say about donald trump hosting a debate and much more. stay with us. something off their menu ttd# 1-800-345-2550 instead of trying to understand what you really need. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we provide ttd# 1-800-345-2550 a full range of financial products, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 even if they're not ours. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and we listen before making our recommendations, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so we can offer practical ideas that make sense for you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck, and see how we can help you, not sell you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 mitt romney is in paradise valley. >> the beginning will be what, january 3rd, but this will probably take longer than a week or two to sort out. my speculation is this campaign will go on for a while and i expect to win it. i need to get over 1,000 delegates and we're just getting started. i'm pleased with what they are and anticipate getting the nomination if i do my job right the only thing i can do to win people over is have them understand my background and experience and if they support me, that's great. if they don't, support who they choo choose. with regards to media, you'll see me on more shows than i've been on in the last several months and part of that is we're getting to the end of the process and now it's time to make our case to the american people and the people in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina and florida and i'll be seeing you more often. with regards to the debates we've had requests for quite a few debates, we decided on two in december. the 10th and 15th and we're not adding any others in december. we'll look at january's request. i think we have ten requests for january debates. we'll probably do two or maybe three in january. we've already set our calendar in december and i communicated to mr. trump that that schedule is completed. [ indiscernible ] >> actually, he's got the numbers wrong, of course. -- i ran for office but i didn't win. that doesn't mean i spent my time in washington because i didn't win. had i won, why we wouldn't be having this argument, i would be president of the united states. instead when i lost elections i got to go back and be a businessman again and allowed me to be involved in the economy and to understand that the grass roots level what american people are suffering and what i can do to get jobs again. i spent my career, 25, 30 years in business in the olympics and running a state. and the experience of leadership of leading ab enterprise, two enterprises and leading an olympics and state, that experience i think is essential to leading the biggest enterprise in the world, the united states of america's government. [ indiscernible ] >> i think the payroll tax extension is a nice thing to do for people struggling in the middle class hurt by the obama economy. it is a temporary thing and is not going to fix our economy. what we need to see is a plan like mine, lays out what we need to do to have a long term stronger economy that makes us globally competitive. you have a president of the united states who's been in office three years and has no plan for our economic vitality. no plan to make our ec