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politics in-depth. i'm wolf blitzer in florida, you're in the "situation room." >> the dust is settling here in jacksonville, florida, after our very exciting cnn republican presidential debate last night. and there's new evidence that mitt romney is gaining support four days before florida puts its stamp on the republican race for the white house. the new poll shows romney nine points ahead of gingrich among likely gop primary voters here in florida. the survey was taken tuesday through thursday entirely before our debate last night. gingrich was leading romney in florida earlier this week. right after he won the south carolina primary, but in the last couple of days, he clearly lost some of that momentum here in florida. and he's now trailing romney. newt gingrich came out swinging in debate here in jacksonville, but some campaign watchers think he was off his game last night. our chief political analyst gloria borger listened to every word of the debate. she was here in jacksonville, now back in washington. romney seemed to do rather well last night, gingrich seemed a little bit off. was that your sense? >> it was my sense, wolf. it was almost oddly as if he didn't come into the debate with any kind of a strategic game plan. i mean when you asked him the question that was predictable from his point of view about mitt romney's tax return. something he'd been talking about every single day in south carolina, he tried not to answer the question, but rather to turn the question right back on you. so take a listen. >> just want to reiterate and ask you, are you satisfied right now with the level of transparency as far as his personal finances? >> wolf, you and i have a great relationship, goes back a long way, i'm with him. this is a nonsense question. look -- how about the four of us debate the rest of the evening and -- >> mr. speaker, you made an issue of this this week when you said that he lives in a world of swiss bank and cayman island bank accounts. i didn't say that, you did. >> i did, and i'm perfectly happy to say that on an interview on some tv show. but you have a chance to -- >> but if you make a serious accusation against governor romney like that, you need to explain that. >> and wolf, at that point after you said that, mitt romney chimed right in, didn't he? because he was willing to turn it right back on newt gingrich, right? >> well, even before mitt romney chimed in, newt gingrich looked over at rick santorum as if appealing to rick santorum, back me up. get me out of this. and rick santorum remained silent. didn't say a word. i'm not coming in to help you on this one. at which point there was a pause for a brief second. and then, and then mitt romney really went after newt gingrich. how dare -- i'm paraphrasing, how dare you say these things about me, these public accusations and then he really went after him. it was one of those moments, obviously, i'll always remember, i suspect mitt romney will remember it, newt gingrich will, as well. it was one of those clear moments -- look, i was fully prepared that he was going to try to come after the news media during this debate, which is something he's done in several of the debates over these past many months. but i did my homework and i was prepared. i didn't want him to obviously get away with, you know, get away with that kind of behavior now. serious issues, he makes serious allegations against mitt romney, says it publicly repeatedly, he needed to explain it. he couldn't just walk away from it. but let me talk about another flash point in the debate right now. it was over immigration. and romney radio ad and whether romney used some words that gingrich had said out of context. listen to this. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead, governor. >> that's inexcusable. and actually, senator marco rubio came to my defense and said that ad was inexcusable, inflammatory, and inappropriate. my father was born in mexico, my wife's father born in wales. the idea i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. >> pretty strong words. >> on this issue, on this issue, gloria, mitt romney is running to the right of newt gingrich on the issue of immigration reform. >> well, it's very interesting. because, of course, in iowa and south carolina, which really do not have the hispanic populations of the state of florida, he was running to the right. newt gingrich had said you're not going to deport people who have deep roots in this country. and then romney said last night at the debate. he said, look, this isn't about 11 million grandmothers who have been here for 25 years or so, but he is softening his position. that is true. in the state of florida. he's softening his position on the dream act, for example, he's softening his position and saying that he would agree to "self-deportation." of some illegal immigrants. so it's clear that he's moving a little bit closer to newt gingrich because 12% of registered republicans in the state of florida are hispanic. >> gloria's going to be back with us later. we have a lot more to assess and dissect from last night's debate. standby, gloria. all campaigning here in florida today. ron paul, though, is in maine. maine holding its caucuses early next month. cnn's jim acosta covering all the battle for florida. jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney is riding high after last night's cnn debate, but newt gingrich is pulling out the big guns to stop romney. mitt romney just can't stop talking about the cnn debate. >> i thought it was a delightful debate. i loved it. >> have you checked your own investments? you also have investments from mutual funds also invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> after a strong showing of several takedowns of his arch rival newt gingrich, he got more good news when he found out he's back on top in the latest poll in florida. >> what kind of man would mislead, distort, and deceive just to win an election? this man would. >> reporter: but gingrich has a new ad out turning romney's debate performance against him highlighting when he tried to explain why he once voted for a democrat in the 1992 massachusetts presidential primary. >> i've never voted for a democrat when there was a republican on the ballot. >> reporter: actually, republicans george h.w. bush and pat buchanan were on that ballot. >> it was an incumbent running against pat buchanan, and by the time super tuesday rolled around, there really wasn't much of a contest at all. s so as an independent, he voted against bill clinton. >> meanwhile, a pro-gingrich super pac is hammering bain capital, which owned a medical testing company which pleaded guilty to medicare fraud back in the '90s. romney was on the company's board at the time. and at hispanic leadership conference, gingrich slammed the goal to have the 11 million illegal immigrants self-deport. gingrich said that should not apply to undocumented grandmothers. >> the idea she's going to self-deport? this is a fantasy. it's not a solution. . >> romney also under fire for latino civil rights group over his threat to veto the dream act, a bill that would provide legal status to undocumented children who enter the military or go to college. earlier this month, a supporter of the bill hounded romney coming out of a fundraiser. >> i've already said across the country -- >> why aren't you supporting my dream? i didn't come here illegally. >> but at that conference, romney says he may now support parts of the bill. >> we are not anti-immigrant, we are not anti-immigration, we are the pro-immigration, pro-legality, pro-citizenship nation and party. >> a report from jim acosta on the scene for us from florida. big-money donors, meanwhile, who love the clintons are being tight fisted right now when it comes to president obama and his reelection campaign. we're taking a closer look at what they're doing, what they're saying, stand by. and mitt romney says he didn't know about some of his investments because they were in a blind trust, but he refused to let a previous opponent get away with that same excuse. ring, ring. hello, progresso. it fits! fantastic! ring, ring. progresso. they fit! awesome. thank you. 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[ female announcer ] tell your story at progressosoup.com for the chance to win an ultimate makeover in hollywood. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. when we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. all right. very busy travel day for president obama once again. he started in ann arbor, michigan, this morning unveiling new college affordability plan at the university of michigan. later in the afternoon, he was with democratic lawmakers at their retreat in maryland's -- on maryland's eastern shore. he spoke about campaigning against his republican congress. >> where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country. more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we've got to call them out on it. we've got to call them out on it. we've got to push them. >> i believe in you guys. you guys have had my back through tough times. i'm going to have your back, as well, and together we're going to move this country forward. >> our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin goes in-depth on some who don't have the president's back, major donors. >> reporter: wolf, for this campaign, president obama will need every dollar he can raise. that means he'll have to overcome some democratic holdouts who are still nostalgic for bill clinton and his golden touch for big donors. back in the day, ira was a friend of the clintons. >> the opportunity for my wife and i to spend the night in the lincoln bedroom. >> reporter: and the clintons were friends right back. >> if you were there for them and you were not overly asking, they were there for you. >> he was a devoted hillary supporter and has given more than $100,000 to the clinton foundation. at the very last minute, he wrote a check to the 2008 obama campaign, but he hasn't given a penny this time. he says no one's asked. >> what would you need? >> well, i think somebody close to president obama who expressed what he wanted, what he needed. i don't have any feedback, and that was the antithesis of my relationship with president clinton. >> can obama win here in the general? >> absolutely. >> he gave over $175,000 to democrats since 2007, but not a dime directly to president obama. >> the finance, the democratic national committee. if he comes to meet with me, you think he would know that. he had no clue. he has no clue. >> he was also a major friend of bill and his friends who are big obama donors complain this president isn't so good with thank you notes, phone calls, little things that make heavy hitters happy. >> he's not bill clinton, what can i tell you? >> steven has raised more than $100,000 for president obama and he's heard about the unhappy clintonistas before. >> there's no question that the clinton era raised donor appreciation to a new level, never seen before, never likely that we're going to see it again. i don't do this because i expect a pat on the back or a thank you. i don't expect the president to be my friend, i expect the president to work hard and do a great job and make our country better. >> reporter: given the money needed to run for office, donor maintenance is a big part of the job and the obama team can't afford to leave any money on the sidelines. john morgan hosted the president at his house and says the president has the personal touch, he's seen it. >> if i can give one word to describe the president is cool. he is a very cool guy. he's a guy you want to sit on the backyard and shoot the breeze with. even though he's the president, he makes you that comfortable. >> as for ira -- >> i have a feeling you'll get a phone call after this airs, from someone. >> who knows. the call may be from president clinton saying, thank you for those nice words. the chances are great i'll get a call from former president clinton than from president obama. >> reporter: but with 1.3 million donors and $224 million already in the bank, the president's hardly hurting for money. and the president's fundraisers believe once he squares up against a republican opponent, even clinton lovers will start to pony up the money. waffle? wolf? >> thank you very much, jessica yellin. good report. meanwhile, news on the cruiseship that rolled on to its side, the cruise ship is paying the survivors. we'll tell you how much. and a possible mistake on mitt romney in thursday's debate. we're breaking it down in our strategy session. that and a lot more coming up. >> my father was born in mexico, my wife's father -- that was me the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir flexpen. flexpen is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen is insulin delivery my way. levemir is long acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not take if your blood sugar is too low. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. with flexpen, say good night to vial and syringe. ask your doctor about levemir flexpen. covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. 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. there's going to be compensation for survivors of the cruise ship disaster off the coast of italy. lisa sylvester is monitoring that from the other top stories in the situation room right now. what's going on? >> hi, wolf. italian officials say each of the survivors will get a lump sum of $14,400. the agreement comes exactly two weeks after the costa concordia struck a rock and rolled on its sides. 16 people are confirmed dead and the search continues for 16 still missing. the captain remains under house arrest. exiled former president pervez musharraf is delaying his return to pakistan. he has said he'll be there for parliamentary elections this month, but pakistani leaders warn he would be arrested in connection with the 2007 assassination of former prime minister benazir bhutto. a senior official of musharraf's party says he'll wait to return until tensions subside. a drive is underway in new orleans to have the sites of two levee breaches placed on the national register of historic places. leaders of the grass roots group levees.org say it was engineering failure that flooded the city in the wake of hurricane katrina, not the storm itself, and that historic designation would underscore that. and the tampa bay lightning has reportedly fired its mascot. the tampa bay times reports that kelly frank, the woman who performs as thunder bug, that she was let go in the wake of this incident which went viral on youtube. you see it there. it shows her in costume spraying a hockey fan with silly string, and has you can see there, he was not too pleased. cnn has reached out for comment from frank, but so far we have not heard back. wolf? >> let us know if you do. thanks very much, lisa. rick santorum's taking a break from campaigning in florida. is he giving up on the sunshine state? i'll ask him that coming up next. plus, we're taking a closer look at ron paul's comedy strategy. in thursday night's debate. congressman, paul, where do you stand on this? >> well, i don't think we should go to the moon, i think we maybe should send some politicians up there. but -- i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. 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