and sharp and sudden turnaround by the obama administration. the white house now says it's tweaking the health care reform provision that sparked a sudden confrontation between church and state as well as republicans and democrats. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is here in "the situation room" watching all of this unfold. it was pretty dramatic what happened. >> it was, and all of this caught the white house off-guard. there's no sign that the uproar is dying down. the president plays cleanup. >> they will not have to pay foror provide contraceptive services, but women who work at these institutions will have access to free contraceptive services just like other women. a law that requires prepreventive care will not discriminate against women. >> the catholic health association says this resolution protects the conscience rights of catholic institutions. e.j. dionne who helped kick up the firestorm now writes president obama did today what he should have done at the very beginning. he honored the fact that religious groups, including the catholic church, had legitimate religious liberty claims, but the solution is stirring more outrage. >> it expresses an animus against the catholic church and other religions. i think they made it worse quite frankly. they raised our expectations, just put some salt in the wounds. >> according to the administration, the new rule tikes the employer out of the equation, so women who work for religious institutions will still get contraception for free, but now their insurance company will have to provide it directly to the women at no charge. that way the objecting institutions aren't paying for birth control. >> the administration insists this was none of this was about politics but angry catholics disagree. >> we are now told we have to provide for abortion-inducing drugs to some employee if she decides she wants it, and that we have to pay for it? >> reporter: a big concern for some catholic organizations is some operation their own health insurance policies, and this would compel more allowances they didn't have before. the administration is aware of this concern and says they're going to work with religious groups to figure out how to resolve that question. >> think probe acknowledge -- >> they know they botched this one and hope this cleanup will be enough to p ultimate it to respect. >> wee see if it is. the fight at the front of the race is right here in washington, d.c. today with the three top candidates all speaking at cpac. we're going to be heying from newt gingrich. he'll be introduced by his wife, and let's get the latest on the battle between mitt romney and rick santorum. he's over at c pack. what happened so far today? rick santorum came to the conversation ready to rumble with mitt romney. take the stand uprue tease from foster fvm rvm iess. >> a bartender says hi, mid. hi, mitt. >> reporter: santorum's hard-nosed speech in the health care plan. >> the fact the stepchild of obama care. the person in mike galanos who built the largest government-run health care system in the united states. >> when we call up with santorum working the cpac crowd, he defended the tough tone. you don't think it was over the top? >> look, it is obamacare at the state left. and that's -- he still continuing to afternoon for it. the a topdown government cross. >> among the conservatives milling around, a few voters may be breaking santorum's way. why not mitt romney? >> i will end up if i have to with him, but i don't trust him. >> i know conservatism, because i have lived conservatism. >> reporter: with you romney had a speech tailor made, and he worked in a swipe at santorum's record. >> let me tell you, any politician that tries to convince you they hated washington so much they just couldn't leave, well, that's the same politician who will try to sell you a bridge to nowhere. >> he got a boost from ann coulter. >> you can't call him dumb, you can't call him crazy. you can call him square. that seems to be what a lot of right-wingers don't like. >> that's better than what she said last year. >> ron, kris christie, romney will be -- >> foster friess was just as unpredictable, saying the former pennsylvania senator is now recovering from his days supporting earmarks. >> i think rick is in the recovery program. >> reporter: how many steps is that program? >> i think it's 12 steps. >> reporter: which step is he on? >> he's pretty well through it, because he's realized the abuse earmarks have had. >> there were other unscripted moments. rockne said he was, quote, severely conservative. that was not in his prepared remarks. and you haven't heed much of newt gingrich. he will be on the stage shortly. hi mission, wolf? get back in the conversation. >> he will be introduced by hi wife callista. you've been on the campaign trail with newt gingrich. how unusual is this we'll be hear from callista gingrich as well? >> reporter: that's a very good point, wolf. we do not hear very much from her. she does speak at some of these events, but not very often. one reason is they know inside the gingrich campaign that there are many conservatives uncomfortable with the way the gingrichs came to be married, but perhaps today -- i haven't been able to confirm this, but perhaps we'll see more of her moving forward. there are some inside the gingrich camp who have advocated for this for a long timeisms jim acosta, thanks very much. we'll check back after the speeches. let's dig deeper. joining us in our strategy session, ron brownstein is a senior political analyst for cnn, and also editorial director at "the national journal." and paul begala, and mary matley, she of course is a cnn contributor. what do you make of callista gingrich, mary, deciding she's going to introduce her husband at this very important meeting in washington today? >> i think it's significant, and i think it's good there's no doubt the spouses can be and have been a great asset on the road. she clearly has the ear of her husband. by all reports she's a preferred adviser. we no whoa her knows she's brilliant, fun and interesting, articulate, a good conservative, so i think it's a very good thing. >> what do you think, paul? >> i think mary is right. i've never met mrs. gingrich, but she's taken a lot of slings and arrows, a a lot of the spouses have. but i think it's a good thing for the reasons that mary states. certainly mrs. obama is a great asset to the president, mrs. romney is enormous asset. i don't want to see anybody attacking spouses. >> and mrs. ron paul, she shows up. >> they can offer a testimony, a perspective that no one else can. having said that, it's newt gingrich who has to find a way to create a rationale for his candidacy going forward. this is the principal alternative to romney. >> it's true, a tracking poll, a gallup puts out. what does he need to do? >> he needs to get back on the track that let him to be the leader of the abms, the anybody butt mitts, and you never say never. now he's challenging to -- for the full-spectrum conservatism. in a more positive way. he has to get on santorum's track and prove he could do it ultimately better than santorum. >> i interviewed santorum, he certainly has gotten major momentum out of that trifecta, that sweep he had this week. >> he hayes, and he's at his best when hi's critiquing romney's health care plan. he did it in the debate and he carved romney up. but he had no answer. with santorum, i would quibble alternates. i would not say romney-care is the step child, but the mother of obamacare. it came first. >> ron, you know this t. one of the great issues he says that republicans and conservatives have is what they call obamacare, the health care reform law. if romney is the candidate, they lose that playing card, if you will. >> because romney says he can till play it. romney's speech was pretty well received, but in other ways, the day -- >> callista is about to introduce her husband right now. let's listen in. >> thank you. thanks, dave. what a great gathering this is. i'm so happy to be with you here at cpac. newt and i have a wonderful partnership with dave vossie and citizen united. together we have produced seven documentary films on conservative values, principles and personalities. several of these documentaries being shown here at cpac. let me just take a moment to thank all of you who have been so supportive to us. when we decided to run, we knew there would be tough stories from the media. as well as hurtful attacks from some of our opponents. what we didn't know was how kind so many americans would be to up. i want to thank everyone who has reached out. you have made our lives richer, and their campaigns stronger. >> because i know newt better than most, i'm pleased to introduce him today. i'd like to share a few things about him that you may be surprised to hear. first newt is an enthusiastic and committed golfer. it's true. he gets in and out of more sand traps than anyone i have ever seen. newt golfs the way he does everything, with enthusiasm and determination. he's willing to learn, and he never gives up. newt loves books. qualify books in every corner of our home. newt also has an entire library on his kindle. i may be the most grateful person in america for this invention. newt is also very supportive. when i sing at the basilica of the national shrine or play my french horn with the city of fairfax band, he is right there listening. i am personally grateful for his wisdom in not trying to sing as a candidate. he knows his limitations. . finally we have had some great family moments over the last several months as kathy, jackie, their husbands, and our grandchildren maggie and robert, have joined us on the campaign trail. newt is very committed to our grandchildren and to the future of our country. we believe with all our hearts that america is the last bastion of freedom. we believe that our current path puts the future of our great nation in jeopardy. and we believe both solutions and fareless leadership are necessary to rebuild the america we love. please welcome my husband, and the next president of the united states, newt gingrich. thank you callista. what she didn't tell you, by the way, is i'm a very bad golfer. she just wouldn't say it. i have to thank dave, who has been such a great friend and partner with us on so many project. also, as a personal note, thank you ralph halo, and cpac recognizing tony, who is such a great friend. and i want to thank the new 2012 volunteers who have been working and made such a different. we are a people-based campaign, and our volunteers are really important. i've spoken at cpac many times. cpac was founded to challenge the republican establishment. the fact is when ronald reagan came here in 1974 and gave his famous speech on bold colors, no pale pastels that was a decade in from reagan's first great national speech for barry goldwater, a time for choosing. when prayingen campaigned in 1980, you could see the gap between the republican establishment and the conservative movement. reagan campaigned on lower taxes, less regulation, praised people who created jobs. the establishment called it voodoo economics. the gop establishment has a single word they use with contempt for conservative ideas. they say they're unrealistic. so creating 16 million jobs until reagan, unrealistic. ending the soviet union, unrealistic, and faith witlessly wrote a brilliant piece recently, pointing out the fact she and i were in as conservatives against the republican establishment over the very question of whether or not we should have an anti-soviet campaign, a 1994 contract with america, unrealistic. the house republican majority of 1994, which by the way was elected by the largest one-party increase in american history, 9 million voters, unrealistic. cutting taxes with the unployment drops, unrealistic. four years of a balanced budget, unrealistic. managing the diskaysh did you changing the trajectory remembers real and take on the left t that is why the republican establishment, whether it's in 1996, or in 2008 can't win a presidential campaign, because they don't have the toughness, they don't have the commitment, and they don't have the philosophy necessary to build a majority in this country. chronny capitalism is as bad as chronny capitalism in wall street and they better clean up the congress if they expect to be reelected. now cpac actually represents a 50-years struggle which goes bass to the movement in 1962. the tea party versus the republican establishment is in many ways the same fight. this has been going on for a half century. at the core of it is very simple. the conservative movement, which it offers bold solutions to rally millions of americans, not just republicans, millions of americans, democrats, independents, people never involved in politics before, this enit wins decisively. 1980, 1984, 1994 are examples of that. what i want to talk about today are gold solutions, and i want to contrast it with the timidity that comes from managing the decay. two examples. we won't the second world war from december 7th, 1941 to august 1945. i want you to lock this into your heads as an example of what america can do when you unleash the american people. in 44 months, three year and eight months we defeat nazi germany and japan. recently it took 23 years to add a fifth runway to the airport. when people say you can't control the border by january 1, 2014, they're describing the america that can't. that's the establishment's america. tide up in bureaucracy, tide up in red tape, tied up in incompetence, tied up in interest groups. let me be very clear. all of you have seen the washington establishment and the wall street establishment pile on top of me. all of you have seen them say things that were profoundly false. there's a good reason they're doing it. this campaign is a mortal threat to their grip on the establishment, because we intent to change washington, not accommodate it. so let's take something that should make us all optimistic. there is a world that works. most if not all of it is in the private sector. how many of you have engone online to check a package at u.p.s. or fedex. raise year hands oecht to drive this home. this is not a theory. it's a practical reality that we have the technology that enables us to track between -- we track 24 million packages a day while they're moving and we allow you to find out where they are for free. now here's the world that fails. the federal government today cannot find 11 million illegal immigrants, even if they're sitting still. now, i have a simple proposal. we send a package to everyone who is here illegally. when it's delivered, we pull it up on a computer. we know where they are. let el me say to my friends in the media, that was hyperbole and we don't need a fact check. now, i'm going to give you a series of solutions that are big enough. we have lots of bickering, lots of arguments about this and that, virtually no discussing of what does it take to take the most complicated society in the world and move it back to being the most successful, most prosperous, safest and freest country in the world. i'm going to try to set a stage for that. we have tons of details at newt.org. you'll see an immense amount of material, but the standard here is to have st. louis big enough, and the principle is to sun leash the american people to rebuild the america we love. let me star with jobs. if i am the nominee with your help, i will ask the entire republican tickets to campaign with me on the pledge that when the congress comes in it will station in session and by january 20th, it will have repealed obama care. it will very well repealed dodd/frank. it would have repealed sarbanes-oxley. all three of those are job killing bills which centralize bureaucracy and increase the corruption of the political system. all three should be repealed and held at the desk until i am sworn in that afternoon on the very first day, we should sign the repeal of all three. that's a reasonable start. two hours after the inaugural address -- that was junior the or deserve. we haven't gotten around to serious work here. two hours afc, i will begin signing presidential orders, all having been published by october 1st. the very first executive order will abolish all of the white house czars as of that moment. we will sign that day an executive order which as of that moment approves of the canadian pipeline to houston, period. >> my message to prime minister harper and the canadian government is simple. you do not need the give the american people a few months. when we bead president obama, you can start buying equipment, because we will approve it on january 20th. there will be an executive order to move the state department to put the embassy in jerusalem as of that day, period. we will that day reinstate ronald reagan's mexico city policy -- no money for abortion overseas, period. and we will have an executive order to repeat every act of religious bigotry by the obama administration, period. my goal, with your help is that by the time president obama lands in chicago, we will have repudiated at least 40% of his government on the opening day. america works when americans are working. the theme will be a paycheck president versus a food stamp president. i believe we will win that fight by a huge margin. oy worked with president reagan. i worked with president clinton. in those four years we got down to 4.2% unemployment. how do you do it? really serious change. i have only one measurements, so i want the establishment to understand up front. this is not about fairness, this is about maximizing economic grout to put americans back to work and create the most dynamic economy on the planet and rebuild or manufacturing base so we pull away from china and become once again the dominant country on the planet in economic turfs. first, you eliminate the capital gains tax, so zero capital gains for all investments in the united states. second, you go to 100% expensing so all new equipment at every level -- farmer, factory, doctor, business -- all of it gets written off in one year. the goal is to make the american system the most modern, the most productive in the world. you also, if you're going to modernize the equipment, you want to modernize the workforce. unemployment compensation should be changed so that in order to get unemployment compensation, you sign you had for a business-led training program, so we are modernizing our workforce. never again should we pay someone 99 weeks for doing nothing. in 99 weeks you can earn an associate degree. i nine, think about the total waste of human capability, when you teach people to stay at home for 99 weeks. it's fundamentally wrong, and the violation of the declaration of independence commitment that we have the right to pursue happiness. if we're serious about manufacturing, we have to eliminate the environmental protection agent, which is a job-killing agency. we should replace it with a brand-new environmental solutions agency made up of new people and the number one requirement should be common sense. they should have to take into account economics. the idea that the highest gas prices we've had, they are looking at a regulation that would raise the price of gasoline 25 cents a gasoline tells you how utterly totally irrational epa is today. not try to reform it, because the people have been self-selected to be radicals who are antibusiness, antilocal control and seek to dictate to america. we also need a 21st century administration, whose job is simple -- be in the laboratory, understand the science, and accelerate getting it to the patient, so we save as many lives as possible and in the process we create hundreds of thousands of new jobs dominating the new market and world health care. we need a 12.5 corporate t