including the same unit that killed osama bin laden, stage another daring raid, this time on mission to rescue hostages from pirates in somalia. tears on both sides of the aisle. congress bids an emotional farewell and gets an inspirational message. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." but first this just coming in. we're seeing a tight race, a very tight race here in florida. that makes tomorrow night's cnn republican presidential debate potentially all the more important as the candidates try to make an impact. the new cnn/"time"/orcp poll shows a virtual tie. ging r. has near will you doubled his support here, while romney has slipped. but that big jump by gingrich may not snell tell the whole story. there's another trend developing, and there's lots to explore. let's getting right to our chief political analyst gloria borger and mike all crowley of "time" magazine. on the face of it, it looks like a tie, but there's other trends developing. >> right, i think what we're seeing, wolf, if you look at the polls taken on sunday, the day after the south carolina primary, and then after the first florida debate, you see the trend is actually slowing down substantial for newt gingrich. so take a look at this. the day after the south carolina primary on sunday, you see that gingrich is up six points, wolf, but after the florida debate, pre and post, you see that romney is 38-29. so romney was up nine points. so what we're seeing here is that gingrich clearly got on bounce out of the south carolina, wolf, you see it there now, he clearly got a bounce off south carolina, but it didn't last for him. this shift to romney may well be because the attacks on gingrich are starting to have some impact. it's always hard to tell. >> michael, if you look at those numbers, this poll was done, the cnn/"time"/orc poll was done over three days, and there was the big republican debate monday night in which romney really went after newt gingrich and newt gingrich held back. it looks like that was a mistake if you believe the trend in these three days of this poll. >> yeah, wolf, that's right. it seems like newt has been most successful when he's been on the attack, on the offensive. we've seen what happens when he's under attack. think back to iowa. they completely killed him in the 308s, drove limb out of contention. you might look to see gingrich go back on the offensive in the next debate. >> and gloria, it was obviously a misfor newt gingrich to take the high road in iowa. it looks like probably a mistake for him to hold back monday night in that debate here in florida. >> tried to be the front-runner, right? >> he was pulling a mitt romney, if you will. >> exactly. >> and that didn't necessarily work out so well for him, at least so far. we'll see what happens tomorrow night. it looks like a gender gap. >> there is a gender gap. in south korea south korea newt gingrich won handily, with both men and women. what we're seeing in florida is newt gingrich leads men by about four points, but romney leads with women 40% to 32%. gingrich generally in his political career has always shown a gender gap. it seems like men like the attack more, but if romney wants to start appealing to men and wants to win, he has to start appealing to men, going on the attack may help him. >> michael, there's a lot of people that vote here, but elderly are big-time voters throughout this state. there's no doubt that all of these four remaining candidates are appealing to them. >> well, absolutely, wolf. florida is such a diverse state there are so many audiences. it's really challenging politics there. you know, compared to a state like iowa, which a lovelly state, but quite homogenous, basically you're looking at a religious conservative electoral. here they are looking at latinos, elderly voters, racial diversity, so it's much more of a balancing act. in fact, one of the big back-and-forths is gingrich going after the rom -- that's an important theme the next few days. i'm sure we'll hear about it in the next debate. >> we'll be learning a lot more about all of this in the debate. gloria, michael, guys, thanks very much. big prize involving the latinos, they make up, as michael just said, a huge part of the electorate. they're fighting very hard for that vote. as you might expect, it's getting realty nasty. jim acosta is taking a closer look. first of all, where are you? what's going on? >> reporter: well, we are watching a mitt romney event that just wrapped up a few moments ago, he went right after that vote, vowed to see castro leave this earth, as he put it during his remarks, and called for a free cuba. that's always good politics down here in south florida, but watching them go to war for the latino vote, all you can say is e ay if the carumba. newt gingrich was tearing up in front of a cuban crowd -- >> he's actually teaching our granddaughter. it's really great. >> reporter: and showing some macheezmo over the castro brothers. >> there would not be a succession. we are in fact are not going to allow a negative future of a new generation of dictators replacing the castro brothers. >> reporter: hispanics are the big empanada in florida. with 21% are still undecided. >> mitt romney is -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: that explains why both campaigns are taking to the spanish air waves. within ad calls romney the most anti-romney candidate. in 2007 he mistakenly used cat trolls's phrase, and then dropped the ad after drawing a sharp rebuke from marco rubio, calling the ad inaccurate and inflammatory. speaker, marco rubio criticized that ad for you today. do you have any comments for that? >> we'll see you folks later on. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: romney is fighting fuego with fuego, in recent days romney has softened his tough position on illeap immigration. at monday's debate he said he could support portions of d.r.e.a.m. act. he had said previously he would veto the bill and offered up a unique opportunity. >> if you don't deport them, how do you send them home? >> the answer is self-deportation. >> gingrich mocked it. >> oh, come on. can i ask you a question? >> sure. >> how close are you to breaking up laughing out loud at this fantasy? >> reporter: both newt gingrich and mitt romney would love an endorsement from marco rubio, but a spokesman for the senator said even after the comments he's not wavering from his position that he's staying neutral. we should mention about an hour ago mitt romney weighed in on that spanish language ad from the gingrich campaign. he called it inappropriate. wolf? >> sglim acosta on the scene for us, thank you very much. the next republican presidential debate is right here in jacksonville at the university of north florida, thursday evening, tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, only days before the pivotal florida primary. you'll see it unfold live here on cnn. there were both tears -- there were a lot of tears on both sides of the aisle today as gabby giffords formally resigned. in her letter she said, and i'm quoting now -- i will recovered and will return. giffords has made an extraordinary comeback from a severe head wouldn't when a gunman opened fire. six people died. giffords will now focus on her rehabilitation. congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz read the letter aloud, and then added. >> let me say a point of personal privilege, for the last year it has been one of the honors of my life and the most important thing to remember that, no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship. and that should be held on high above all else. and i will always carry that in my heart, and even though i know we won't see each other every day, gaby, we'll be friends for life. for life. >> yes. >> congresswoman giffords cast her voight on the final big she co-introduced. it passed enan mussily. we'll have much more in the next story in the next hour. dana bash will be you will on capitol hill. here is something i was wondering about last night when anchors the coverage of the state of union address, the mysterious words he uttered to leon panetta. right before he delivered the address. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. good job tine, he said to leon. good job tine, leon. now we finally know what it was all about. details of a daring u.s. rescue operations. also newt gingrich heckled in florida over a controversial part of his past. and mitt romney's scathing reaction to the president's state of the union address. gene sperling is standing by live. this hour he will respond. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." ♪ [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow, ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense? s. let's get to job jack caffe. he has "the cafferty file." >> as president obama heads out, he has his work cut out. a new gallup poll shows americans of broadly dissatisfied with the state of the union on many issues. in in cases that satisfaction has dropped off a cliff over the last four years, the most toxic, the economy. it happens to be the top issue on most voters minds. only 13% say they are satisfied with the state of the economy. 13%. most ominously for mr. obama, that's a 23-point drop since january of 2008, the year before he took office. this is the lowest rate of satisfaction and the biggest decline in the last four years for any of the 24 issues that gallup measured. up next fewer than 3 in 10 americans are satisfied with the moral and ethical climate, and the size of federal government. there's more. most americans are also dissatisfied with the level of immigration into the country and with the nation's efforts to deal with poverty. no surprise there. we have more than 46 million people living below the poverty line, plus a record number of folks on food stamps. on the plus side americans are most satisfied with the overall quality of life, along with the nation's security from terrorism and its military strength, but if you buy that election-year admonition "it's the economy stupid" then where president obama is concerned, there's a problem. here's the question -- what does it mean for president obama that americans' dissatisfaction with the economy has skyrocketed since 2008? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog or to post on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? and it's a great page indeed. jack, thank you. there was an intriguing moment before the president's state of the union address before a joint session of congress last night, just a hint that told me something important was going on. watch this moment from our special coverage last night. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> we did hear the president say to leon panetta, the secretary of defense, you did a good job. we're going to check out why he justified a shoutout like that from the president. "you did a good job" maybe he'll make an announcement in his speech tonight about what the secretary of defense and the defense department did. we're checking our sources right now. and we now know that something very dramatic indeed was happening in a daring nighttime raid, u.s. special operations forces landed in a remote area in somalia. they rescued two hostage aid workers and killed nine pirates. the american woman, jessica buchanan and her danish colleague, were kidnapped back in october. a official says the same elite navy s.e.a.l. unit that killed osama bin laden was among those involved in the raid. an official says this time they par chuted in from fixed-wing impact and advanced on foot to the compound. the military says nine heavily armed gunmen were -- zain verjee takes a closer look at what this is all about. >> wolf, the u.s. is sending a powerful message to somali pirates, we are fed up and not afraid to come and get you. this kind of operation does not mean it will deter somali pirates from kidnapping hostages, because it's a new and important retch stream for them. somali pirates have been a danger for ships on the high seas for years, hijacking them like it's a slick business. call it pirates inc., wolf. i have to give you an idea of that fascinating organizational structure. think of it kind of like a wall street firm. few know as much about modern piracy than this man, john burnett's education began the hard way while sailing solo to singapore. >> it's as terrifying as waking up in the middle of the night in your bedroom on land and realizing there's an intruder in the house. it scared the hell out of me. >> reporter: he wall street held hostage by pirates in the south china sea. when burnett was released, he decided to make piracy his life's work. i asked him sow somali pirates are able to make millions in hijacks for ransom. >> it's nearly a corporate business plan. they have every step run with military precision. >> reporter: if attracts investors and suppliers. a pirate gang leader oversees the operation, that includes a pirate action group, about 8 to 12 men on two skiffs, an on-board commander, a logistics manager, an accountant and an interpreter. pirates will get close in the dead of night to a merchant ship like this one, they approach it, they look for one that moves slowly and is kind of low. they throw a rope with a hook or ladder and climb up onto it. the skiffs have powerful engines, weapons, gps navigators, extra fuel. burnett says piracy is big bucks and out of control. >> there are many, many men and women being held hostage, and no one deals with it. no one cares about it. >> that's zain verjee reporting for us from london. a quick footnote. zain is reporting that pirates are still holding about 30 people hostage. as for jessica buchanan, the american aid workers who was rescued brian todd has spoken to some family members, they are anxiously awaiting her return. we'll have that part of the story as well as new details. that's coming up in "the situation room" in the next hour. what does flaens pelosi really know about the former house speaker. she's hinting that it could derail his campaign. it's turning it into a serious war of words between the two former speakers. plus heckled out there on the campaign trail. details a who was mocking newt gingrich and why. we're going to see the exchange. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music plays] lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on? >> the seattle-based company starbucks is joining a growing list of corporations backing the push to legalize same-sex marriage. it says it's in line with the business practices and philosophy. it joins other washington companies, including microsoft and nike in supporting legalizing gay marriage in that state. and take a look at this rescue off the coast of north carolina. coast guard officials say a 26-foot sailboat ran aground on a shoal over the weekend prompting a call for help. the three men we are hoisted to safety in windy and rainy weather. fortunately none were injured. their first words to the rescuers, quote -- you guys are awesome. move over, exxon apple is now the most valuable publicly traded stock in the world. it soared on record of a quarterly profit. that pushed the market value to $419 billion, surpassing exxon, which is worth only december only, by the way -- $413 billion. it briefly surpassed the oil gyred last august, but exxon quickly regained. but now apple is on top. it's former speaker versus former speaker. we're talking about newt gingrich versus nancy pelosi. you will hear for yourself. and mitt romney slams the president's ideas on jobs and taxes. i'll get a response from gene sperling, the director of the white house economic council. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? president obama's on a three-day trip to five political battleground states. his first stop today, iowa, where he talked jobs, took some jabs at his republican critics. now he's on the way to arizona. dan lothian is joining us. the white house says this isn't a campaign trip and last night's address wasn't a campaign speech, but certainly to a lot of folks it sounds like the above. >> reporter: it does sound like that, wolf, but the white house saying the speech last night and certainly this tour is about pushing a vision that will help this country, that will put middle-class americans back to work and will turn the economy around. as part of the president's big push, there's something old and something new. >> it was a state of the union speech that set the tone for president obama's reelection campaign, populist themes that appeal to independent voters. much of it we've heard before. >> everyone gets a fair shot. what's at stake aren't democratic values or republican values, but american values. >> reporter: but behind closed doors, the white house crafted new ideas, and hours before the speech was delivered, released this video on how the proposals ended up in the script. because of the concerns over content piracy in cunning like china, a new trait enforcement unit is being created. >> there will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods have crossing our borders. >> reporter: and two more new units to tackle fraud in the financial industry. >> this new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law. >> we'll we've ahead about the so-walled buffett reel before, the president got more specific. >> if you make more than a million a year, you should not pay less than 30% in taxes. >> jay carney trumpeted the fair share aspirin tells. >> americans fortunate to be millionaires and billionaires should not be pays at a lower rate than working middle-class americans. >> reporter: on the environmental fronts attractive to his pay, he announced a directive to allow clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. the opposing party found few things to applaud, and on the campaign trail hopeful protested not with their hands but with their words, he ways speaking in fantasyland again last night. >> i find the gap between his words and deeds to be sort of astounding. >> reporter: the president also asked congress to consider tax breaks for companies that bring jobs. but wolf,